DONOR SPOTLIGHT Lynne Azarchi Donates to Get More Planet-Protectors Involved Please introduce yourself to our readers. I’m Lynne Azarchi. I’m the Executive Director of Kidsbridge Youth Center outside of Trenton, New Jersey. It’s an organization that fosters bullying prevention, diversity appreciation, empathy, anti-bias, and empowerment for youth. I’m also the author of “ The Empathy Advantage: Coaching Kids to be Kind, Respect- ful, and Successful .” How long have you been interested in environmental causes? I became interested in environmental issues while in college. I joined the lettuce and grape boycotts led by Caesar Chavez — I was horrified when I learned that farm workers were being sprayed with harmful insecticides. How did you hear about Food & Water Watch / Food & Water Action, and what motivated you to make your first gift? I learned about Food & Water Watch more than 15 years ago through one of your emails or mailings. It led me to attend a local meeting in New Jersey, where I met nice people who were activists. They had empathy and cared for others. What do you think about Food & Water Watch / Food & Water Action’s work and impact on the world? As a youth educator, one of the things I love about Food & Water Watch is that it uses the same strategies I teach to kids to generate social-emotional skills — like empathy and respect for others, and empathetic action to help others who have less. What do you hope to accomplish through your philanthropy? I hope that Food & Water Watch grows larger, attracting more people to the movement.
Lynne walks her local beach. She says, “I love picking up plastic from the beach. It’s so satisfying.”
I hope my giving inspires more supporters to get involved because everyone deserves clean air and water, and healthy food. If you were talking to someone about giving to and getting involved with Food & Water Watch / Food & Water Action, what would you tell them? What do you wish everyone knew about our mission? Food & Water Watch is an extraordinary group of people…It’s so rare to have an oppor- tunity to work alongside folks who truly care about others. I wish more people knew of Food & Water Watch’s impressive outcomes, such as winning bans on fracking in several states, getting stronger factory farm regulations, fight- ing off water polluters, and raising awareness of plastic pollution. What gives you hope for the future? Young people give me hope. I see so many younger people who accept diversity, appreci- ate difference, and are more empathetic to care about others’ health and our precious Earth — and they are standing up and speaking out. Food & Water Watch is an extraordinary group of people… It’s so rare to have an oppor- tunity to work alongside folks who truly care about others.
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