Planet Collaborates with Captain Planet Foundation for 2022 Earth Day Fundraiser

We, Planeteers, are pretty serious about our love for the Earth, our enthusiasm for education, and our commitment to human well-being on this planet. As a Public Benefit Corporation, our stated purpose is “to accelerate humanity toward a more sustainable, secure, and prosperous world, by illuminating environmental and social change.” For our internal Earth Day fundraising event, we wanted to ensure that we were embodying our values as we considered partners. 

For the event, I worked with other Planeteers to create custom LEGO designs, celebrating our satellites, that would be sold internally to our employees.  And even more important, we also needed to pick the ideal organization to be the beneficiary of the proceeds. When Planet’s Employee Experience Manager Julie Kuschke suggested that, since this fundraising endeavor was my idea, perhaps I should find our perfect beneficiary, I began the exciting search in earnest. 

My first thought was that, since this was an Earth Day fundraiser, the charity should be one that benefits, well… the Earth! My second thought was that I wanted to ensure that the organization that received the money was a reputable one–an organization known for being good stewards of the funds they received. Thanks to web resources like Charity Navigator and GuideStar, I found many good Earth-oriented non-profits, and they all seemed like excellent fits.

But then I saw him… Captain Planet. Pointing a finger right at me. The Captain Planet Foundation (CFP).

The word “Planet” in the title? That caught my eye. So, I visited their site and learned about what they do. “Empower young people to be problem-solvers for the planet.” I am a father of a nine-year-old and a ten-year-old, and this is one of my life’s greatest passions. Well, this was another feather in CPF’s cap.  

The foundation also had Charity Navigators‘ and GuideStar’s highest possible rating. A clear good sign. Then I noticed that they were based in Atlanta. It really wouldn’t have mattered where they were headquartered, but as I’ve called Atlanta my home for 25 years, something about it felt so well-aligned. 

Finally, the original cartoon was called “Captain Planet and the Planeteers” and the charity calls their target youth “planeteers.” It brought a huge smile to my face. Employees of Planet refer to themselves as “Planeteers.” It was just the cherry on top.

Everything felt all too perfect, and so I announced to others at Planet that the Captain Planet Foundation was the charity I thought should be our Earth Day fundraiser beneficiary. As a happy coincidence, I came to find out that there were others at Planet who had been looking to join forces with Captain Planet!

We made the final decision to go with CFP. We know that both of our organizations are fully committed to providing the tools and resources needed to build a sustainable future. The Captain Planet Foundation empowers local schools, garden communities, and youths to generate sustainable food systems and protect endangered ecosystems. Planet collaborates with NGOs, research universities, and governments to provide vital datasets to responsibly manage our Earth – from agricultural systems to rainforests. Together, we are on a mission to defend our planet Earth. 

I’m truly grateful that I discovered the Captain Planet Foundation, and I’m hopeful we can work towards a bright future working with them.  

And who knows? 

There may be a few future planeteers in Captain Planet Foundation’s youth right now…