For their Community Action Project, these youth leaders partnered with Philly Thrive, a Grays Ferry-based grassroots organization focused on environmental justice.

Through their own research and collaboration with Philly Thrive, they learned about a development project happening in Grays Ferry which is transforming the property formerly used by a PES Oil Refinery into a collection of warehouses and research facilities. The developers are not removing contaminated soil on the site, where the oil refinery had been leaking chemicals like lead, benzene, and PFAs for its 150-year production history. ⁠ ⁠

The leaders decided that the Grays Ferry community deserves to know about the history of this site, its impacts on health, and the developers prioritization of profits over community safety. They organized a tabling event outside Philly Thrive’s headquarters in Grays Ferry, where the young leaders spoke to residents and distributed flyers detailing what was happening on the site and how community residents could get involved in resistance efforts against the development. In addition, youth leaders developed a petition that was disseminated during the action event, collecting over 150 signatures as of August 1st.