The Oath at Global Summit 2023
Getting to know our community in person is a rare treat for our 99% internet-based organization. So when Jaclyn from 1% For The Planet reached out to us to invite us to participate in their NYC Global Summit 2023, we knew we had to go.
We even got to sneak in a team dinner with Oath Facilitator Kristy Drutman from Brown Girl Green!
For anyone new to 1% For The Planet, they are an organization that connects businesses with environmental organizations and certifies that all network businesses donate at least 1% of their profits to support the planet. Do we love that? SO MUCH!
Kate Williams, CEO of 1% For The Planet gave us an insightful welcome!
During the summit, we had the amazing opportunity of learning and unlearning from our friends at Intersectional Environmentalist and Dr Ayana Elizabeth Johnson - though so many other incredible facilitators shared their knowledge, we just didn’t have the opportunity of attending because we were also facilitating. We also got to connect with representatives from businesses who have supported the Oath - heyo Friendsheep, Hydro Flask, MintyMade, and Citizen - it was so great to exchange irl hugs and excited giggles with y’all!
Pinch us!
My favorite part was being able to co-facilitate 2 Oath workshops offline (woah!) alongside Maya and José. We got to do embodied practices as part of the workshop, used hybrid interactive tools, take irl photos with folks afterwards (we didn’t dream it!) and induct 40+ new Oath Troublemakers into our community.
I also had a great time participating in a panel about The Power of Our Network, moderated by storytelling powerhouse Sara Yourgrau and in the company of sustainable packaging genius Julia Marsh from Sway, environmentally committed CEO Peter Dering from Peak Design, inspiring EJ warrior and colleague Kiana Kaz from Intersectional Environmentalist, and business-conservation bridgebuilder Connor McElyea from The Conservation Alliance. We talked about the potential of 1% For The Planet’s network to provide long-term investments in not only the expected spaces but also in grassroots organizations and at all levels of giving and stages of business development. It was so inspiring to hear from such diverse perspectives that intersect in our work.
Next, Maya and I had the amazing opportunity of volunteering for a local project through City Harvest NYC, a food rescue organization. We helped them create over 3,000 food redistribution bags! Our goal was to make 500, so yes, our meadow was on a roll. They do amazing work supporting families with fresh food (vs all pre-packed as other food banks do), check them out!
Lastly, we close up our time with a super fun Drag Bingo with our very own co-founder Pattie Gonia! We danced, sang along, and almost* won some prizes (but false bingo is also a thing lol).
We hope to be invited back and be able to continue to share our mission with and be supported by the 1% For The Planet Network!
Photos courtesy of The Oath team with additional professional photography from 1% For The Planet member Duncan Nicholls.
