From Mark Longanecker, Our Lady of the Assumption in Claremont, CA
Let the Sun Shine In!
Locally Grown Power Pays it Forward to LMI Households
I am very excited and proud of my church in Claremont and the active social justice programs we offer throughout the year! Just Act Ministries at Our Lady of the Assumption Church offers two different JustFaith Ministries modules per year, presenting social justice awareness and also challenging the participants to get involved and do more. Some of these modules include field trips or “immersion experiences” out into the community. And every once in awhile, during such an immersion experience, the light bulbs suddenly turn on! That’s when an everyday, normal field trip becomes an emotional “how do we get involved?” life-changing event!
On June 29, 2019, about 18 participants and facilitators from our “Just Engagement: The Power to Change” module visited the Claremont-Pomona Locally Grown Power factory (LGP), here in Pomona, California. We were privileged to meet with Devon Hartman, the President and CEO of CHERP/ Locally Grown Power. He shared with us his company’s amazing plans to open a factory to manufacture their “new patented technology and a nonprofit business model. Locally Grown Power will produce and install solar PV systems for LMI households – more cost effectively by 6-7 times than current State programs.” (Devon Hartman, https://www.claremontlocallygrownpower.org/environmentaljustice CHERP/Locally Grown Power website).
Locally Grown Power will be the only solar panel manufacturer in the USA, which is also a nonprofit, meeting the power needs of 6,000 residents in the low to middle income range in the Claremont-Pomona surrounding area. LGP received a $2.1 million grant from the 2019-2020 state budget to help make this ambitious plan become a reality! Please visit the LGP website to learn more: https://www.cherplgp.org/post/lgp-claremont-pomona-receives-2-1-million-in-2019-20-state-budget-funding
Our participants were so inspired that they enthusiastically answered LGP’s challenge for volunteers to bring their skills and talents to this initiative. It was truly amazing to meet Devon Hartman and to hear him share his passion about making solar energy available to lower income households. This will provide much more than just monthly savings on their electric bills – as solar power is truly a positive step towards neutralizing the greenhouse effects on Planet Earth. Now that’s paying it forward!
Please visit the CHERP/ Locally Grown Power website at https://www.cherplgp.org to learn more about this fascinating non-profit.