The Walk for Climate Hope on July 13, 2025 (NEW DATE!), supports Accelerate Climate Solutions’ initiatives to build our future environmental leaders through programs focused on high school and college students.

Participants will take a 5k walk in nature on or around July 13. There is no fixed location for this walk.

Funds raised support our Building Leadership Around Sustainable Transformation (BLAST) program, which includes a challenge for high school students to come up with a project that addresses an environmental problem. Working as individuals or part of a team, students are paired with mentors, write a proposal, and then pitch their idea in front of a panel of judges with the chance to win funding for their project. The BLAST competition has served over 100 students and over 50 volunteers in the two years it has run. BLAST projects range from the highly technical, like "Microbial Fuel Cell," which creates electricity from algae, to the highly educational, like "Martian Madness," a board game that teaches about climate solutions.

Accelerate Climate Solutions also provides ongoing support for select BLAST projects through stipends, mentorship, and/or resources. Seeds of Hope is an example - we serve as the fiduciary sponsor for this student-run project that creates native prairie seed libraries to offer free seeds to community members.

Contributions also support our BLAST summer program. High school and college students intern with Accelerate Climate Solutions to learn how putting their skills and ideas to work can truly make an impact on the community where they live. We anticipate serving over 50 students in this program during Summer 2025. Past and future projects include:

Business recycling survey
Community bike plan
Civic engagement
Pop-up thrift shop
Traveling climate education program
Outreach to underserved communities

Your contributions help us hire high school and college interns, support the administration of our youth programs, and ensure that we grow to reach even more students.

If you'd prefer to donate by check, our mailing address is 34 W. Chicago Ave., Suite A, Naperville, IL 60540.

Thank you!

Accelerate Climate Solutions is a nonprofit corporation established in Illinois on January 9, 2023, with a focus on Naperville, Aurora, and surrounding communities. We are a 501c3 organization and all contributions are tax-deductible.

Virtual Walk-a-Thon for Climate Hope 2025

Supporting Youth Programs that Build Future Environmental Leaders

Team Members