Mark your calendars — GRID Alternatives- Inland Empire is hosting its inaugural community solar installation and annual fundraising event, Solarthon, on May 19, 2012 in San Jacinto.

A block party style event, Solarthon will bring together over 200 volunteers from the Greater Inland Empire to the community of San Jacinto to work alongside teams from Wells Fargo and other corporate sponsors, workforce training partners, supporters and friends, as well as Local and State Government Officials. These Solar Champions will raise funds throughout the Inland Empire, and then install solar electric systems for a neighborhood of in-need, income-qualified homeowners at no cost to them, allowing the homeowners to save approximately 75% on their electricity bill from day one. The first annual GRID-IE Solarthon block party will inspire and create awareness around issues of energy efficiency, solar energy, sustainable living and community empowerment.

“Renewable energy is a great way to take advantage of our natural resources, to produce electricity and eliminate toxic emissions from being released into our environment,” says Cliff Lavy, a local homeowner who is benefiting from one of GRID’s solar systems. “It also creates jobs, putting people back to work, which in turn will help our devastated economy.”

In their pursuit to empower communities in need and build a sustainable future, GRID Alternatives trains and leads teams of job trainees and other community members to install solar electric systems for low-income families throughout California, as administrators of the California Public Utility Commission’s Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) Program. Every project generates measurable “triple bottom line” results: long-term financial benefits for low-income families struggling to keep up with monthly expenses; real-world, hands-on experience for local workers in the growing field of solar installation; and environmental benefits by eliminating greenhouse gas emissions and building support for solar power as a mainstream solution for all of our communities.  Thus far, GRID has trained over 8,000 job seekers and community volunteers statewide at over 1,600 residential solar installations.  Since opening their Inland Empire office in 2011, GRID has installed over 190 systems and trained over 700 community volunteers and job trainees in Riverside, San Bernardino and Inyo Counties, including 15 installations in the San Jacinto-Hemet area!

On May 19th, an entire neighborhood in San Jacinto gets to be part of what GRID is doing daily in the IE, joining hundreds of job trainees and community members to install solar electric systems.  GRID Alternatives welcomes all individual, team and corporate sponsors who are interested in raising funds on behalf of GRID, and volunteering at Solarthon; those who are committed to sustainable community development, environmental stewardship, and green collar workforce development.

For more information about volunteer or sponsorship opportunities, or to apply for the Solar Affordable Housing Program, contact Michelle Gherardi at solarthonie@gridalternatives.org or 951-272-4743 ext. 7777 or click here to see photos from other Solarthons.

Erica Mackie and Tim Sears, two professional engineers, founded GRID Alternatives, a California-based 501(c)3 non-profit in 2001. In 2008, GRID became the program manager of the statewide SASH Program on behalf of the California Public Utilities Commission.  By leveraging grant funds and donations as well as the SASH incentives, GRID Alternatives is able to provide solar energy to low-income homeowners at little or no cost to them.