Friday, April 18, 2014

Join our Solar Justice campaign

In 2012 I went to Haiti with Soleil Global, a nonprofit stated by my friend Jacque-Philippe Piverger, to give out solar lights. So many people in Haiti and all around the world live off the grid and these lights are a simple way to help them. For one, these little lanterns that charge in daylight and provide light for a small room are much healthier than the alternative lighting option: burning expensive and smoky kerosene. In addition, these lights give people the opportunity to use the hours after dark for communal activities, homework, reading, and other activities those of us on the grid might take for granted.

On April 15th, MPowered Inc, a company CEO'd by Jacques-Philippe kicked off a massive solar justice campaign. I was asked to be part of the Solar 100, a group of diverse people hailing from the worlds of art, music, business, science, athletics, and entertainment who work as ambassadors for the cause. We're encouraging people to visit MPowered's site where you can purchase Luci lights, solar lanterns like the ones we gave out in Haiti, for people in need. MPowered is one of many businesses employing the "do well by doing good" model: they are a profit-earning company but they create products with humanitarian purposes. When you buy a Luci that light gets put in the hands of someone who really needs it -- I know because I handed them out myself with Jacques-Philippe and others on our trip.

Learn more here.