As a Pittsburgh native, Raymon Whiteside was accepted into the SCA's Green Job internship in September 2007, where he worked with both the Student Conservation Association and Construction Junction. It was through this placement that he became fully aware of the importance of climate change. Raymon believes that it was his SCA instructors’ in-depth class sessions on climate change, their beliefs on the environment, as well as their perspectives on the future of green jobs that really intrigued him. After witnessing the instructors’ dedication to save the environment first hand, Raymon began to think like an environmentalist himself. He not only became concerned about the state of today's environment, but he also wanted to raise the awareness needed to make an impact on our society, and ultimately move us towards a cleaner and more sustainable environment.
Raymon is placed with Action Housing working within their weatherization program as a part of the Energy Outreach Team. He will also be coordinating a special event for the SCA. This event will showcase what many organziations not only the SCA and the Green Cities Corps are doing to create a more sustainable Pittsburgh. Raymon will have multiple objectives within the remainder of his internship with Action Housing. Those objectives will be weatherization applicant follow-up, providng input as well as articles for the Action-Housing newsletter, creating and refining a Southwestern Regional Energy Efficiency Directory, maintaining community outreach sata spreadsheet, community presentations and education workshops, researching residential conservation, working with Action Housing's communty partner organizations, identify trainings of interest that will help improve his very own knowledge of weatherization and climate change solutions, and developing weatherization education modules.
Though Raymon has just joined the enviromental outreach movement he has been very active in the realms of outreach before his intership opportunity. Since October of 2008, he has been an elected official of the Pennsylvania State and Southwestern Regional Youth Advisory Board's Public Relations/Community Outreach. It is a volunteer program sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Child Welfare Program that reaches out to in and out of care foster youth. After his internship with the Student Conservation Assciation and Action Housing he plans to attend California University in California, Pa. There he will study environmental justice. Raymon vows to devote his life to his passion which is helping others. With the fusing of environmental and social injustice he will aspire to have a career in the field of environmental justice.
