What to Know
- Solar Spring Break is a program by Grid Alternatives in partnership with Well Fargo.
- College students will install solar panels for a two day period for one family.
- The Solar Spring Break starts March 4-8 for University of Michigan students and March 25-29 for MIT Students.
College students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, more commonly known as MIT, and University of Michigan will spend their spring break installing solar panels to low income families in Long Beach.
Solar Spring Break is a program by GRID Alternatives in partnership with Wells Fargo. The non-profit organization aims to build the next generation of the solar workforce in communities that lack access to renewable energy.
GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles serves nearly 200 families a year with solar systems. Families and residents need to complete a form regarding the number of people in a household and total income with the Energy for all Program to qualify for solar panel installation.
"Typically the families that we serve qualify by earning below 80 percent area median income for the county that they live in," Danny Hom, GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles communications coordinator said.
Students will install solar panels for a two-day period for one family and spend the other days spreading awareness about renewable energy in the community.
"Students will canvass to tell more families about solar and learn about other environmental justice organizations that help people at risk of bearing disproportionate burden from pollution," Amy Wang, volunteer fellow said.
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This is the third year in a row that MIT has participated in Solar Spring Break. Students were selected from the MIT Energy Initiative that focuses on research, education and outreach to develop solutions for clean energy.
"The industry is better off when there are people who reflect the faces of those who need solar the most, including people of color and people from populations that traditionally haven't been represented," Hom said.
The Solar Spring Break starts March 4-8 for University of Michigan students and March 25-29 for MIT Students.
