Tlaloc hitchhiked all over California. He returned to LA and volunteered with the Head Start program in the Watts neighborhood in southern LA. Enjoying the experience, he went back to school to teach with Head Start. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he pursued a master’s degree.  

Tlaloc became interested in yoga, vegetarianism and Hinduism and decided to travel to India to complete the field work for his Master’s degree. He embarked on an odyssey, hitchhiking across the United States, and spent three months traveling through Europe before traveling overland to India via Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. 

While in India, he spent time at Auroville, an international community focused on peace and human unity. Tlaloc planted trees over a barren five-kilometer wasteland. Today, the area is under a tree canopy and is considered one of the most successful reforestation projects in India. He immersed himself in the local lifestyle, learning dry land cultivation and wearing traditional clothing.  

After circling the globe for 4 1/2 years (2 years in India and 2 1⁄2 years travelling), Tlaloc returned to Hawaii where he completed his master’s degree in Education and the Environment, detailing the reforestation work he did in India.

Next, Tlaloc spent a few years in Saipan working as a solar technician. He later received a grant to earn a Ph.D. at the East-West Center, but when his wife became pregnant, they chose to return to her home in Australia. There, Tlaloc worked at an Aboriginal school that stressed indigenous culture. Later he worked for Oxfam, an international development organization, and also taught part-time at the University of New South Wales on sustainability and social justice, which he considers inseparable priorities. 

Currently, Tlaloc travels between Hawaii, Australia, India and Vietnam. In India and Vietnam, he lives on about $10 per day, and lives frugally while in Hawaii and Australia as well, riding a bike for transportation and cooking meals at home. “I was fortunate to have been a hippie and learned how to live lightly on the planet. I have always lived simply so that others may simply live,” he says.

Tlaloc was in Vietnam when the Covid-19 pandemic began. A few months later, he returned to Hawaii to help care for his mother. At 98, Tlaloc’s mother created her own will, which inspired Tlaloc to make his own long-term plans.

Tlaloc chose to include Friends of the Earth in his estate plans because of our shared focus on the environment and social justice. When he was younger, his parents stressed tithing. Because Tlaloc doesn’t contribute to a church, after providing for his son and stepdaughter, the remainder of his estate will go to environmental, First Nation and social justice organizations. “I donate and volunteer in the spirit of solidarity, not charity,” Tlaloc shares.

Believing climate change is our most urgent priority, Tlaloc is grateful to younger generations leading the fight around the world. As he says, “It’s not what you gather, but what you scatter that matters.”

The post Donor Profiles: “What You Scatter Matters” appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Tim Wilson, the son of a chemical engineer in West Virginia, grew up with firsthand knowledge of how fossil fuel companies negatively impact their immediate environment and the communities that surround them. Though unrealized at the time, these experiences led him to be the “accidental activist” he is today.

While at Ohio State University, Tim was struggling with the realization that he was gay. In the late 1960s, there were few support systems in place for LGBTQ+ communities, and Tim felt isolated. After a career in bank operations, Tim entered the nonprofit world to work with organizations focused on LGBTQ+ equality and HIV/AIDS-related causes. Now retired, he is the volunteer program director for an LGBTQ+ program at a spiritual center in Denver.

Long before becoming an LGBTQ+ activist, Tim considered himself an environmental activist. “In hindsight, I wasn’t really active, but rather a modest financial supporter of several conservation organizations. Now I really appreciate the work of Friends of the Earth,” Tim shares.  

“FOE is the one organization that really understands the interconnectedness of issues affecting our world, and its work and priorities reflect that understanding. I value how Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth, demonstrates that intersectionality in much of his communication,” continues Tim. “Much of my LGBTQ+ volunteer work has involved people of color communities, so that understanding is important as someone who has learned to be aware of privilege.”

Tim has supported FOE for several years, but it was only recently, in 2018, that he organized a fundraising effort in memory of a dear friend, raising $1,000.  Since then, Tim has been inspired to grow his impact.

As someone on a limited income, Tim decided the way to be able to help the most would be to make Friends of the Earth the beneficiary of his 401(k) plan. He found setting up the beneficiary designation to be easy, and he is confident that this gift will help Friends of the Earth continue its work for years to come. 

“To paraphrase a quote from Swiss theologian and Catholic priest, Hans Urs von Balthasar, “You are a gift from God; what you do with your life is your gift to God,” Tim says.

Tim believes God will be very happy if we can succeed in saving our beautiful Earth from our self-destruction.

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“Friends of the Earth is our legacy voice for a healthy planet,” shared Rick Taketa. “Ensuring a healthy environment, clean air and water and healthy food, as well as protecting biodiversity and promoting sustainable economies are goals our generation must pass along to future generations.”

Rick, a former board member, and his wife, Alexandra, have a lifelong appreciation of nature and a passion for protecting our planet. Their activism began while in college where they were motivated by pollution’s effects on both natural habitats and public health. 

After both pursuing careers with the grassroots environmental organization Greencorps, Alexandra and Rick went on to work for the Sierra Club, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Public Interest Research Group and Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund. Both continues working on environmental issues in graduate school, with Alexandra receiving her master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University. Rick earned his law degree from Stanford University. 

Rick and Alexandra are especially concerned about the negative health and environmental impacts from overuse of chemicals and genetic modifications in our food supply.

“Friends of the Earth focuses on the root causes of environmental problems and promotes change that is multi-generational,” Rick said. “The organization has been at the forefront of inspiring many cutting-edge initiatives – reducing subsidies to polluters, promoting environmentally friendly tax policy, early identification of the pitfalls of GMOs and the positive impacts of protecting bees.

“When Alexandra and I made our estate plans,” Rick continued, “it was important to include support for an environmental organization where our gift could have the broadest possible impact. Friends of the Earth is best positioned to leverage our gift most effectively and efficiently for the future.

“We have witnessed Friends of the Earth’s work for over two decades and have reviewed the organization’s history. Friends of the Earth has stayed true to its core values and long-term approach of attacking the root causes of critical environmental and societal issues. Alexandra and I have confidence the organization will remain intellectually honest, politically effective and focused on the future.

“We are proud to share that Friends of the Earth is included as one of our charitable legacies. Alexandra and I strongly believe it is imperative to protect environmental health for generations to come. As parents, we are stewards of today’s planet and want to do all we can to ensure a sustainable future for our children and beyond.”

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At 24 years old, Rebecca Canright may be young, but she understands the importance of planning for the future, both on a personal level and a larger scale. This year, Rebecca prepared her will and included a bequest to Friends of the Earth in her plans. 

“I’m only 24 but I feel so committed to Friends of the Earth and its important work in safeguarding the future of our planet!” she says. “It’s so important to leave the earth with more care, respect, and healing then we started with.” 

Growing up on an organic farm in New Jersey gave Rebecca an appreciation of plants and animals, and the interconnectedness of life.  “I remember telling my friends from a young age about the importance of treating the environment well,” she says.

Rebecca went on the study environmental policy at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. As a student, she attended environmental lobby days to testify in support of environmental bills at the Washington state legislature. “This helped me see the magic that can happen when we use advocacy to protect the planet,” she says.

When it came time to create an estate plan, Rebecca included a bequest to Friends of the Earth and in doing so, became a member of our Shared Earth Society. “I wanted to include FOE in my will because I want to leave a legacy for healthy future ecosystems. Our world needs our caring and healing attention.”

Rebecca is especially passionate about protecting peatlands, wetlands, and forests, as they are critical carbon sinks. Her passion is shared by FOE’s International Forests Campaign, which aims to address deforestation by influencing the financing of forest-destroying sectors, such as palm oil and cattle; advancing policies and practices that foster biocultural diversity; and strengthening the land and resource rights of forest-dependent communities.

 “We have a lot more power than we might think,” she says. “I would like my fellow young people to find joy in environmental activism, for the health of our future and our fellow species. It brings such joy to know that our actions can have a healing impact upon Earth – it makes life so much worth living.”

About her bequest to Friends of the Earth, Rebecca says, “I wouldn’t want to leave my estate with anyone less.” 

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Miriam Sexton of Dunedin, FL has always believed in advocating for a healthy and just world. She was born and raised in Akron, OH, where she learned her love of nature from her parents. “My father grew up in Sparta, NC, and we visited his extended family there every year. I fell in love with the Blue Ridge Mountains at a very early age,” she says. 

Miriam has donated to environmental causes for decades. “I have increased these donations in recent years due to climate change, and so many environmental crises that could lead to the possibility of the extinction of humanity over the coming century,” she says.

Miriam attended college at Manchester University in North Manchester, IN, where she earned a degree in psychology, and earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Clark University in Worcester, MA. She then completed an internship at Boston Children’s Hospital in the Psychiatry Department and spend her career as a professor in the Department of Pediatrics for the University of Massachusetts. As a result, in addition to supporting environmental causes, Miriam is a passionate supporter of organizations that advocate for abused and neglected children. 

Upon her retirement, Miriam relocated to Florida, where she resides during the winter months, and Asheville, NC, where she lives in the summers. While in Florida, she enjoys walking along the beaches of Florida’s many state parks, including Honeymoon Island, where she can spot eagles, gopher tortoises and armadillos. 

Her hobbies include pickleball, hiking, photography, and walking the beach. “I try to immerse myself in nature every single day,” she says. This includes hiking along the Blue Ridge Parkway and the gardens of the Biltmore Estate in the summer in North Carolina, and walking along the harbor and on the beach and hammock trail on Honeymoon Island in Dunedin, FL in the winter.

When making her estate plans, Miriam chose to designate Friends of the Earth as a beneficiary of her IRA. In addition, “now that I am required to take withdrawals from my retirement accounts due to my age (Required Minimum Distributions), I have decided to use these to support charities, as this is one of the best ways to contribute without incurring stiff tax consequences,” she says. “It’s a smart move and provides a lot of satisfaction to give generously rather than get taxed heavily on these distributions.”  

For Miriam, the decision to designate Friends of the Earth as a beneficiary to her retirement plan was an easy way to ensure that our work continues to secure the future of our planet.  “We are clearly at a crisis point environmentally and the time is approaching when we may not be able to reverse the course of climate change. This is an essential time to do all that you can to help,” she says. 

“What could be more important than preserving nature, our environment, wildlife, and our oceans and seas?”

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Mike grew up on a small lake in Minnesota. He discovered his love for sailing during summer camp at 12 years old. An avid sailor to this day, Mike made the switch to ocean sailing and even completed a solo sail from San Francisco to Hawaii. 

Mike earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and his master’s degree from San Francisco State University before earning his Ph.D. in neuropsychology at the University of Southern California.

Mike took a year’s leave of absence in 1968 while teaching at the Brain Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, “which I’m still on,” he laughed. He then helped found the Oceanic Society in San Francisco where he served as the group’s executive director and started chapters in Puget Sound, Los Angeles and San Diego. 

During his tenure at the Oceanic Society, Mike started one of the first ocean monitoring programs in the country, where he worked with other Society members to patrol the San Francisco Bay by boat and air to spot polluters. His proudest achievement was helping secure the first jail sentence for polluters in San Francisco Bay. 

“A boatyard owner was illegally dredging polluted sediment from his boatyard and dumping it elsewhere in the ocean,” Mike shared. “One of our members kayaked out at night to document the pollution, and we reported it to the EPA’s criminal investigation service, which resulted in an indictment and a one-year jail sentence for the boatyard owner.”

In 1989, Mike co-founded San Francisco Baykeeper to help protect the Bay from pollution. Environmentalists were eager to create their own waterkeeper groups, and now there are over 350 waterkeeper groups across the world—all part of the Waterkeeper Alliance. 

In 1991, the Oceanic Society merged with Friends of the Earth. Mike saw firsthand Friends of the Earth’s grassroots approach to advocating for clean and healthy waterways and oceans and quickly became a member of FOE. He has since served two terms as Chair of the Board. “FOE’s worldwide network means it can have a much bigger impact than most organizations based in just one country,” he said.

Now approaching 85, “finally reaching middle age,” he said with a grin, Mike has no plans to slow down his advocacy and is eager to ensure his generous support for the planet continues for years to come. This is why Mike included a gift in his will to Friends of the Earth as part of his legacy for the planet. “Friends of the Earth is an amazing organization doing worldwide work, and I want that work to continue after my lifetime,” he said. 

Moving forward, Mike says the biggest challenge facing our planet is climate change. “Friends of the Earth will continue to turn the dial back on climate change,” he said. “We must reduce the impact of climate change for the next generation.” 

Mike’s message for those who are deciding where to direct their charitable giving for the environment is simple: “Friends of the Earth delivers more bang for every buck than practically any other environmental organization.”

The post Donor Profiles: “Leaving a Legacy for the Planet” appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Those two passions collided when she learned that John Denver, her favorite songwriter, supported several conservation organizations — including Friends of the Earth. Karen and her late husband John soon became Friends of the Earth supporters. 

Karen’s family has followed Friends of the Earth’s campaigns to save bees from toxic pesticides and protect our food system for years. “I’m proud to be a part of victories like moving the garden industry away from bee-toxic pesticides,” she says.

“But I know the fight for a healthy and just planet will continue for decades to come. My passion and drive for protecting the natural world led me to include Friends of the Earth as one of the beneficiaries in my will. 

I was drawn to Friends of the Earth because of the campaign to protect pollinators. The BeeAction campaign inspired me to act locally to save butterflies and bees.” 

In 2019, Karen began the process of getting a pollinator garden approved for her city park in Sparks, Nevada. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic put the garden plans on pause, but Karen knows that making a lasting impact can take a lifetime, and it takes all of us to ensure systems are in place to protect the planet we love. 

“I believe my passion and drive for protecting the natural world is one that many Friends of the Earth supporters can relate to,” she says.

The post Donor Profiles: “Saving the Birds and the Bees” appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Having spent his career teaching biology and nutrition at the college level, Dr. Maravelas especially appreciates the efforts Friends of the Earth has made and the victories achieved in our work to protect our public lands and all who live on them. 

“Friends of the Earth is willing to acknowledge that climate change is a fact and actively educates people about its influence on the way we conduct our lives,” he said. “I also value the work that Friends of the Earth is doing to protect pollinators, which are crucial to our food supply.”

Dr. Maravelas is as passionate about public health as he is the planet’s health. “Greedy corporations care nothing for the biological, spiritual and uplifting qualities of the unspoiled natural environment, not to mention its beauty. 

Their actions affect our wilderness areas and our human communities. Unpolluted air and unpoisoned water are essential to every living thing.” 

“Friends of the Earth is unceasing and tireless in its efforts to prevent corporate brass from turning public lands into gameboards for privatization and profiteering,” he continued. “We’ve got to oppose corporate greed as vigorously as possible because the profiteers never have enough. 

“My bequest is in recognition of this ongoing struggle. When it comes to making a legacy gift, I would encourage others not to hesitate – do it now.” 

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“I give back to organizations that support the things that keep me alive – plants, animals, soil, water and air,” shared Dixie. “It’s a reciprocal relationship.”

Saving the Honeybees

Dixie has supported Friends of the Earth and our work over the years, and she has recently included us in her estate plans. “I appreciate the broad scope of issues Friends of the Earth addresses, especially the campaign to save the honeybees.”

While living in Maryland, Dixie worked on the honeybee campaign, specifically helping influence the legislation to keep neonicotinois out of the hands of consumers and to require plants to be labeled as “bee friendly.”

“As a beekeeper who has struggled with high losses in the last few years, this is a subject that is close to my heart. Friends of the Earth is at the forefront of other organizations in facilitating change,” said Dixie. 

A Critical Time

Dixie encourages others who value the work of Friends of the Earth to consider making a current or future gift. “In the current political situation, it is crucial for all of us who cherish the natural world to come forward and show our support, in whatever way we can. I believe Friends of the Earth is a worthy place to give my financial resources.”

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