History of Mothers for Clean Air

MfCA was created in 1995 to serve as an informal membership arm of the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP). In 1996, MfCA incorporated as a separate Texas nonprofit educational corporation. MfCA received federal tax-exempt status in September 1997, and held its first general meeting in November 1997.

MfCA is funded through private foundations, government grants, and individual contributions. In 1998, a joint MfCA-GHASP grant from the W. Alton Jones Foundation helped MfCA establish itself as an independent entity, build membership, and set up an office in the Houston Environmental Center. This grant also funded a project to educate day care staff and parents in low-income neighborhoods about the health hazards of air pollution.

From 1997 to 2001, grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) helped MfCA form chapters in four low-income communities: Woodland Acres, Barrett Station, Fifth Ward and Southeast Houston. The purpose of these chapters is to empower residents to identify, prioritize, and address environmental justice issues. In 2003, residents of west Houston organized the Spring Branch/Memorial Chapter, and in 2005, MfCA initiated development of a sixth chapter in Montgomery County.

Since 2003, MfCA has collaborated with UTMB NIEHS Center/Sealy Center Theatre Outreach and Education section to stage seven performances of Restricted Area, an original play about a superfund site in Houston’s Fifth Ward. In 2004, MfCA launched Ozone Theater, an interactive theatrical game that teaches children about air pollution.

During 2004, MfCA started a 3-year EPA-funded stakeholder collaboration project in southeast Houston. The community air sampling component of the project got underway in 2005. Also in 2005, MfCA completed an EPA indoor air quality project called Tools for Schools in 33 of 46 Spring Branch Independent School District schools.

A joint grant to GHASP and MfCA from Houston Endowment Inc. in 2004 gave the groups additional funding for staff and the resources to move to a larger combined office. This multi-year grant has allowed MfCA to continue to grow and to develop and implement new programs.