NRG Energy sent 40 of its employees out to install solar on four homes with GRID Alternatives last week as part of its annual NRG Global Giving Day. From Eatontown, New Jersey to San Diego and San Francisco, volunteers bent conduit, sawed rails, hoisted panels and ran wires to get solar energy flowing for families that need the savings most. David Quinn, of Eatontown New Jersey, couldn’t have been happier. He lost everything when Superstorm Sandy destroyed his car and apartment, including the job he had managing the building. Now he’s getting back on his feet in transitional housing built for Sandy survivors by nonprofit Affordable Housing Alliance. Solar will help make those homes even more affordable.
“Our experience helping to install solar for families in need of help was truly uplifting for all of us,” said Leah Seligmann, NRG director of sustainability, who was one of the volunteers. “We look forward to this day every year so we can bring NRG’s strength to others in our community who really need our support. Once we completed our work, it was exciting to see the solar power being metered right away and the immediate benefits of our volunteer time.” The companywide community service involved more than 1,200 volunteers lending a hand to 74 different charities in 13 states where NRG operates.
This is the second year that NRG has partnered with GRID Alternatives for its service day. NRG’s volunteers also helped install solar for two families in New York and New Jersey last fall as part of GRID’s East Coast launch. Click here to see NRG volunteers in action in San Francisco and Eatontown.