Clean Air Delegate Program from Youth Squad®

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This pin and all program supplies are available from our partner site MakingFriends®.com.

Suggested Prerequisite

Clean Air Advocate Service Patch — **Clean Air Advocate**

Completing Clean Air Advocate Patch Program® is a suggested prerequisite for earning your Clean Air Delegate Pin. Your advocate experience will help provide you with the knowledge needed to become a delegate for clean air. You can also opt to complete the Clean Air Advocate requirements during the time you earn this Delegate pin.

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Requirement 1: Choose It!

Points to Consider When Choosing A Clean Air Project:

What is the outdoor air quality in your area? Helpful Link: AirNow
What is the ozone hole? Helpful Link: The Ozone Hole
What can be done to prevent depleting the ozone layer? Helpful Link: 5 ways to prevent ozone depletion.
How does poor air quality effect your health? Helpful Link: Health Effects of Poor Air Quality

What is particulate matter pollution? Helpful Link: Particulate Matter
What kind of pollution is emitted by transportation?
Helpful Link: Smog, Soot, and Other Air Pollution from Transportation
What about pollution in bigger cities. Helpful Link: Urban Air Toxics

Some Ideas:

Institute the Air Quality Flag Program at your school.
Organize ride-sharing or car pooling programs
Get your community to institute a no-idling policy.
Raise funds for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (Some organizations may not allow fundraising. Check with your organization first.)
Distribute face masks to the homeless on hazardous air quality days.
Campaign to have your school use environment-friendly cleaning products.

Get permission to fill an empty private or public space with trees.
Lead a community effort to enforce or change laws concerning tree removal during construction.

Project considerations:

What are your skills and talents?
Do you need a mentor or adviser? Who will it be?
Will there be legal or permit issues to resolve?
How many others can you recruit to help?
Will your volunteers need special skills or training?
How many hours can you devote to the project?
Will there be a project deadline?
How much money will you be able to raise for the project?
Can you get a sponsor to help with the costs?

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Requirement 2: Plan it!

Goal Setting

Setting goals will help give you a long-term vision and short-term motivation. It helps you to organize your thoughts and determine exactly what needs to be done.

Decide exactly what you want to accomplish and give your project a name.
Break it down into smaller steps.
Set up a timeline.

Recruit Volunteers

Although smaller projects can be done alone, many projects will require a team. As the project delegate, one of your most important roles will be building a successful team. Helpful Link: 7 Super Steps to Recruit Volunteers.

Find a mentor with experience in your project area.
Enlist an Advocate to help you recruit volunteers. Consider using a volunteer release form especially if you are working with children. Helpful Link: Volunteer Release Form
Decide which jobs you can do alone.
Will you have teams?
How many people will you need for each team?

Take a look at the table below to get you started. You can copy and paste the table to use as a template for your project. You can set up an account for free or use your own method for organization.

Budgeting

Budgeting allows you to create a spending plan for your project. Sticking to your budget ensures that you will have enough money for the things you need to complete it. If you copied the table above you will see there is a section for budgeting.

Raise Money

There are many ways to raise money. If you are working with an organization such as Girl Scouts* check first to see what is allowed. Helpful Link: A Beginner’s Guide to Fundraising

Consider GoFundMe, CrowdRise, DonorsChoose, or Kickstarter.
Organize an event like a car wash, bake sale, or benefit dinner to raise awareness around your fundraiser.
Host an event such as a walkathon, run, or bike rides.
Ask local businesses and community members to donate items for a silent auction or a live auction.
Sales of customized products like tee shirts, pens, and buttons will not only raise funds but generate awareness about your project.
Invite the local media to your fundraiser or at least supply them with a photo and caption after the event.

Specific ideas for Clean Earth Fundraising Fundraising

Get clever with your ideas. Think of things related to your cause. It will help bring awareness and set up a “fun” atmosphere, while raising the money you need to complete your project.

Set up a sponsor a tree campaign.
Make and sell tree seed bombs.
Host a kite flying contest.
Have a sniff-a-thon where contestants try to identify items in a container by their smell.
Auction off seedlings donated by a nursery in pots painted by neighborhood kids.
Set donation levels such as $20 for an clean air pin, $40 for a tee shirt.

Host a free paint night to teach landscape painting (with trees) to kids. Ask an art teacher for help. “Sell” the painting to the parents.
Make and sell eco-friendly cleaning products.

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Requirement 3: Do It!

You should now be ready to put your plan into action. After completing the plan, remember to thank the community.

Ways to say Thank You:

Personally thank individuals and businesses who helped. A handwritten letter is always nice. Helpful link: How to write a thank you letter.
Thank the community as a whole with posters.
Create a follow up press release and include the names of individuals and businesses who participated. Helpful link: How to write a press release

Youth Squad® Volunteer Thank You Certificate

Give certificates of appreciation.
Thank the community as a whole on social media..

Congratulations on completing your clean air action project! The Clean Air Delegate pin makes a great reward for completing your project. It also makes a great gift to program sponsors and mentors.

See all our current Delegate level pin programs:

Related Fun Patch Ideas:

Note: Many of the links provided to assist with completing our Patch Program®s are external and do not imply an endorsement or recommendation. At the time of publication, external content was vetted to the best of our ability. Your views and ideas may vary and we do not intend for you to substitute our opinions for yours. Research the topic thoroughly before beginning a project. As always, make sure children access the internet only under safe-surfing conditions.

*youthsquad.makingfriends.com is not affiliated with, endorsed by or a licensee of Girl Scouts of the USA.