On February 4th, 2013, GRID North Valley had the pleasure of partnering with Yuba County Office of Education Youth Build for a successful 12 panel installation in Yuba City, CA. Youth Build U.S.A. is an organization that works with low-income, out of school young people to provide opportunities to continue and complete their high school diplomas, learn a trade through apprenticeship and job training, and serve their communities by helping to construct housing for low-income families and homeless people
DENVER, February 13, 2013 Veterans Green Jobs, a nonprofit organization that puts veterans to work in the green economic sector, is launching a partnership with GRID Alternatives, an Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit solar installer. Through this partnership, the two organizations will advance training and employment opportunities for military veterans in the clean energy field nationwide.
Last week 23 GRID Alternatives SolarCorps members made their way to the Solar Living Institute for a week-long solar PV course. When I arrived on Sunday, I found that I would be staying in a small hut with 3 beds.
Courtney Dittmar was thrilled the day she took home her orange Team Leader shirt. For months she had been commuting by bus, train, bike and foot to get to installs in Richmond, Oakland and San Francisco from her home in Mountain View, and she finally had something to show for it.
"You're working with a homeowner thats excited; this may never happen otherwise for them, the workers are excited. Its a win/win for everyone," says volunteer Frank Walters about his volunteer experience with GRID Alternatives.
This August, graduates from the Solar Design, Estimation, and Sales class at Skyline College completed a solar installation with GRID Alternatives. After their extensive classroom course, the 21 Skyline students were excited to put their skills to use on the roof. With their help, GRID Alternatives installed a 4.2 kilowatt system for a low-income family in Richmond, helping them save almost $40,000 in energy cost savings over the lifetime of the system.
Twin brothers Tyrone and Jerome Saxton, both former Army Reservists, got a special gift for Veterans Day this year: new solar electric systems to power their homes. The systems were installed Friday, November 9th by volunteers from Wells Fargo and Thrivent Builds, led by GRIDs Veteran construction staff and team leaders.
Volunteer Jeffery Trirogoff has been committed to GRID Alternatives since his first installation in March of 2011. He came in with clear intentions and a clear goal. Already having achieved a BPI Certification, this Green enthusiast wanted to obtain his NABCEP Installers Certification while giving back to the community at large.
