4 Nonprofits to Be Thankful for This Thanksgiving

We are fast approaching one of the busiest times of the year. As we start making plans for Thanksgiving, the winter holiday shopping rush kicks into high gear and holiday cheer starts in earnest. And, above all, November is a season of gratitude and giving. Now is the perfect time to reflect on the good things 2020 has brought us, despite challenging times. Green Mountain Energy Sun Club® nonprofit partners have done great work this year (as they do every year)! Sun Club is honored to partner with these Texas groups and celebrate their accomplishments.

Target Hunger

As a United Way agency, Target Hunger is one of Houston’s largest organizations providing direct food assistance to food-insecure children, families and seniors who face the risk of going hungry every day. They have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing food to homebound seniors and managing large drive-thru food distributions multiple times each week.

Thanks to a Sun Club sustainability grant, Target Hunger is currently working on building the new Green Mountain Energy Sun Club Shotwell Garden, an above-ground container garden expected to yield up to 10,000 pounds of fresh veggies each year to serve 1,000 families in the northeast Houston area, including the neighborhoods of Fifth Ward, Kashmere Gardens, Settegast, Magnolia Park, North Forest, Denver Harbor and others.

Houston Toolbank

This nonprofit lends tools to schools, faith-based organizations and charities to implement community improvement projects in southeast Texas. Volunteers donate their time in the warehouse filling tool orders, maintaining tools and improving warehouse efficiencies, so organizations can borrow tools and equipment for hundreds of community projects.

After tools are borrowed, they often come back dirty. Thanks to Sun Club, volunteers at the Houston Toolbank can now wash their tools with rainwater! The Toolbank’s 12,000-square-foot roof has been equipped with a rainwater capture system to leverage the 50 inches of average rainfall Houston receives annually, which equals more than 9,250 gallons of rain saved and utilized sustainably every year.

Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land (TPL)’s mission is to create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. TPL’s Texas office has partnered with the Dallas Park and Recreation Department to develop a network of parks and trails across the Five Mile Creek watershed.

By collaborating with the community around South Oak Cliff High School, TPL aims to transform Alice Branch Creek into a public greenspace. TPL believes Alice Branch Creek to be an ideal opportunity to demonstrate the power of high-quality parks and greenspaces to catalyze neighborhood revitalization. In collaboration with Sun Cub, TPL will install 15 solar light poles at the Alice Branch Creek to light the upcoming public greenspace and directly improve the public safety of the surrounding community.

P.E.T.S.

Located in Wichita Falls, Texas, the P.E.T.S. Clinic is a household name in North Texas. It offers low-cost, high-quality spays, neuters and veterinary services to ensure every pet has access to and can remain in a loving home.

With a Sun Club sustainability grant, P.E.T.S. will install a solar array at its recently inaugurated building. Within two years of opening the new facility, an estimated 50% of the clinic’s electricity needs will be generated by the sun. The energy savings will allow the P.E.T.S. clinic to provide food and basic vet care for an estimated 350 additional pets per year and to spay and neuter an additional 100 animals per year, preventing 1,600 unwanted litters annually and the euthanasia of 25 local shelter dogs.

These are only a few of our Sun Club partners making a difference for our neighbors in Texas. Make sustainability happen in local communities by helping Sun Club create a cleaner planet for all of us through sustainability grants.

On behalf of the Sun Club community, have a Happy Thanksgiving!