The Foundation

Since the first project in 2005 Reduce the Juice has established a recognizable brand of youth leadership on environmental issues. Reduce the Juice projects seek to create youth advocates against climate change to motivate communities and deliver measureable results.

Our tagline, "Change means the world to us" says it all. We at RTJ believe in change and we design and deliver projects that offer opportunities for change on a personal or community level. We also believe that youth will be the agents of that change.

The founders of the RTJ organization firmly believe that climate change is an imminent threat to the planet and that the youth of our world will bear the consequences of the decisions we make today. This principle prompted the creation of a foundation based on a conviction that youth have a unique ability to motivate their own communities and when given the opportunity they are capable of executing projects to combat climate change.

The goals of the Reduce the Juice Foundation are:

• To unite secondary and post secondary students in climate change solution projects to make a difference both in their own communities and across the province.
• To pilot new projects in the Dufferin and Wellington region.
• To develop a website which can act as a reference for other communities wanting to run their own youth climate change projects.
• To increase public awareness about climate change solutions on a community by community basis in Ontario through a network of Reduce the Juice inspired projects.
• To lower greenhouse gas emissions.

The Reduce the Juice Foundation which began as a volunteer organization was awarded a significant grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation that has allowed to us to expand our project beyond our home turf of Dufferin County. The grant has given RTJ the chance to hire a full time staff member whose responsibility it is to plan and develop projects and ensure their successful delivery. RTJ is currently planning projects in Waterloo Region on transportation and its contribution to climate change.

No two communities are the same therefore, to maximize effectiveness, the foundation hopes that new communities can embrace the basic frameworks that we have created thorough our pilot projects and implement them in their communities. Members of the Reduce the Juice team have amassed a great deal of experience and insight with regards to the projects that we have already run and would be thrilled to help other communities implement successful projects. Please contact us if you think that one of our project models would be well suited to help your community Reduce the Juice!