Welcome to Global Preservation Society
Welcome to the Global Preservation Society! I am writing this letter to welcome all of our newcomers, and to thank everyone who has so graciously and enthusiastically supported this project.
The concept for GPS emerged from my summer camp experience as part of the Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC) in 2017. GYLC consisted of approximately 300 teenagers from high schools around the world who convened for six days in Washington D.C. and four days in New York City to explore international diplomacy and youth leadership. This experience opened my eyes to the potential of youth empowerment and the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. When I returned home, I pledged to maintain my connection with this special group of friends, educate myself about sustainability, and develop my leadership skills to promote this critical cause.
In the fall of 2018, I made good on this promise. The Global Preservation Society (GPS) was founded in order to create a Global Forum to allow young people from around the world to share their ideas and perspectives with regard to our current environmental and social challenges, and to help inspire others to action. In addition, our fundraising efforts have enabled GPS to provide small yet effective grants to grassroots organizations, community coalitions and student groups committed to the environment, as well as small scholarships to high school students who are interested in the kind of leadership training that inspired me to start this project.
To all our current and future donors, I am pleased to report that GPS was granted 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service on June 25, 2019 which makes the donations we receive tax deductible.
Given the demands of a rapidly growing world population in the face of limited natural resources, immediate action is necessary to ensure human survival, health and prosperity. Excessive carbon emissions, increasing temperatures and rising sea levels, will – if not curtailed – result in drought and famine on an unprecedented scale. Impoverished communities and vulnerable populations are particularly susceptible. Our generation possesses both the ability and the resolve to find solutions to these problems so that future generations do not inherit this crisis. It is my hope that the Global Preservation Society becomes a platform that brings young people together to drive the change that is necessary to protect our society and our planet.
In the word of one of my favorite authors: “if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
