A recipient of the Community Sentinel Award, given by Americans Against Fracking, Earthworks, FracTracker Alliance, Halt The Harm Network and Stop the Frack Attack, has asked that his $1,000 prize be donated to two legal battles being fought by PA families fighting pipeline buildout and eminent domain seizure and destruction of their property.

Alex Lotorto, a Pennsylvania resident and organizer for the Energy Justice Network, will be honored in September by the above organizations for his work aiding communities fighting environmental injustices, particularly through the Energy Justice Shale Initiative in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The families whom Lotorto plans to give his prize are the Holleran family, whose sugar maple farm was destroyed to make way for the currently suspended Constitution Pipeline, and the Gerhart family, whose stewarded forest was devastated by clear-cutting to make way for the Mariner East 2 Pipeline. Both families fought against the use of eminent domain to seize their land for pipeline development.

"Thank you to everyone who nominated me for the Community Sentinel Award. I'm honored to receive it, but my heart is still broken as my friends face expensive legal fees and organizing costs. I'm going to ask that the $1,000 prize be split and paid directly into the Hollerans' and Gerharts' legal funds that Energy Justice Network maintains. I'm also going to ask that the money for a hotel room be donated as well," wrote Lotorto in a post on Facebook.

Lotorto also asked that supporters of his work contribute in ways that would meaningfully aid front line communities: by writing a letter of recommendation for Energy Justice Network to show to potential funders, and to donate funds directly to the shale field communities he works with, rather than giving donations to pro-fracking politicians like Hillary Clinton and Katie McGinty.

To support the Holleran family's legal fund, share or donate at this link. The family currently has a legal bill of over $7,000 for their defense in their contempt hearing in February, and extensive litigation and appraisal in the coming years.

To share or donate to the Gerhart family's legal fund, use this link. The family and supporters facing charges with them have been paying out of pocket for their legal fees in addition to the cost of their attorney and condemnation appeal against the pipeline.