Giving the gift of solar energy

The Get Fed program of the JCF brought together 25 eager participants over two days to give the gift of light this Hanukkah—sun power in this case—as we solarized the home of a low-income family in San Francisco. GET SOLAR, this service learning project, was the brainchild of Get Fed committee member Jonathan Axelrad and is the beginning of the Federation’s participation in the modern day energy challenge. The 25 people included venture capitalists in the green tech arena, several professionals in the solar industry, and Get Fed volunteers among others. The journey began on November 30, when Grid Alternatives, the organization that enables groups like ours to install solar paneling, presented to the group the Whys and Hows of their work.

Axelrad and Get Fed staff person David Katznelson explained why this modern day energy challenge is a Jewish concern—since by addressing the issue, we are healing the world—and how the bigger goal is to solarize the Federation building and in turn providing a blueprint for solarizing the Jewish Community. The first cohort showed up on Rhode Island Street behind the general hospital on a rainy Sunday to start the process. The wetness kept the roof work to a minimum, but all of the customized metalwork was attended to and the solar panels, which became the undisputed stars of the show, were set up and prepped for installation.

The day was eventually called for rain, leaving a day-and-a-half’s amount of work to the next crew who arrived on Monday morning at 8:30.  Monday turned into a beautiful day, and the hours were spent installing a framework for the panels, which included tarring foundation modules to a rook and re-cutting metal.  As the sun went down, and the crisp wind blew against the faces of the workers, the solar panels were handed up to the folks on the roof and the installation was complete. A big thank you goes out to Jonas, the team captain, Maura and Zack from Grid Alternatives, the Federation’s own Briana Goldman and Emma Meyerson, and our host committee Josh Joseph, Jonathan Axelrad and Lara Ettenson. The GET SOLAR service learning project was made possible by a generous and heart-felt grant from the Sarlo Foundation.