The Green Mountain Energy Sun Club donated $300,000 to SEARCH Homeless Services in Houston, Texas. As part of the donation, SEARCH's House of Tiny Treasures received a 1,000 gallon rainwater cistern.

Texas sunshine and rain are now helping SEARCH Homeless Services power their facilities and conserve water thanks to a $300,000 donation from Green Mountain Energy Sun Club. SEARCH is a Houston-based nonprofit dedicated to providing hope, creating opportunity and transforming the lives of homeless men, women and children. The Sun Club^® donation equipped the nonprofit with solar panels, a rainwater cistern and other sustainable energy solutions. As a result of SEARCH’s “Of Course We Can” capital campaign, the nonprofit opened the doors on two new buildings this summer, both of which have been outfitted with sustainable energy solutions. At SEARCH’s new headquarters, the Sun Club’s donation is helping slash the building’s annual energy costs by 50 percent.

“Green Mountain Energy Sun Club is proud to support SEARCH Homeless Services and partner with an organization that has such a consistently profound impact in our community,” said Mark Parsons, president of the Green Mountain Energy Sun Club and vice president and general manager of Green Mountain Energy Company. “The Sun Club donation to SEARCH will free up funds used to power the facilities, allowing the nonprofit to transform and re-build more lives.”

At the new SEARCH Employment Services and Care Hub, which serves as the nonprofit’s headquarters, the Sun Club donated a 65-kilowatt rooftop solar array, LED lights and insulation. The sustainable additions are expected to save the nonprofit more than $342,000 over the 25-year life of the solar array.

SEARCH also opened a second House of Tiny Treasures, its early childhood education program. The new school features a 1,000 gallon rainwater harvesting system that will serve as irrigation for the landscape and lawn. The cistern will also be incorporated into the education curriculum so the children can learn about the importance of sustainability from a young age.

“SEARCH is so thankful for the support and investment from the Green Mountain Energy Sun Club,” said Thao Costis, president and CEO of SEARCH Homeless Services. “We are proud of our commitment to sustainability and hope to inspire other nonprofits to look for ways they can do more to be better stewards of our environment.”

Green Mountain Energy Sun Club
Since its founding in 2002, the Sun Club has donated more than $4 million to sustainable programs focusing on renewable energy, energy efficiency and resource conservation in numerous communities in Texas and in the Northeast. Contributions to the Sun Club come from Green Mountain Energy Company’s residential customers in Texas, as well as from Green Mountain, its employees and other Sun Club supporters. Green Mountain’s customers are vital to the Sun Club mission of supporting local nonprofit organizations through solar and sustainability projects. To learn more about the Green Mountain Energy Sun Club and to apply for a Sun Club sustainability grant, please visit www.gmsunclub.com.

Green Mountain Energy

Green Mountain Energy

Green Mountain Energy Company was founded in 1997 with the mission to change the way power is made. Today, we remain 100% committed to this mission, which makes us the nation’s longest serving renewable energy retailer and a clean energy pioneer. We provide customers with electricity products made from renewable resources like wind and solar and carbon offsets that help neutralize carbon emissions.

We live our commitment to sustainability inside and out: Every single product offered by our company has an environmental benefit, and our company operates with a zero-carbon footprint - distinctions that make us proud!

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