Sun Club donates $33,000 to Greyston Foundation for a solar array to help power the bakery with pollution-free energy
YONKERS, NY – The tasty gourmet brownies and desserts baked to perfection in the Greyston Bakery will add the sun to its list of ingredients thanks to a donation the Green Mountain Energy™ Sun Club™ is making to the bakery’s non-profit arm, the Greyston Foundation. The Sun Club is a voluntary program in which Green Mountain Energy Company residential customers make monthly contributions toward solar generation systems for non-profits. This $33,000 donation will fund a solar array to be placed on Greyston Bakery’s roof, improving the bakery’s environmental footprint and reducing its energy costs.
Greyston Bakery works under the mission that, “we don’t hire people to bake brownies. We bake brownies to hire people.” The for-profit business backs up this statement by operating with a double bottom-line, meaning it measures success based on creating positive social impact as well as by generating a profit. A portion of the profits generated from the bakery go towards the Greyston Foundation, a program that provides jobs, workforce development, affordable housing, youth services, and health care to employees.
“Our commonality as mission-based organizations make the Green Mountain partnership a great fit for us,” said Steven Brown, President & CEO, Greyston Foundation. “Thanks to this renewable energy source provided by the Sun Club, we can use the money saved on our electricity bill to deliver more programs and services for members of the Yonkers community.”
“Green Mountain is pleased to bring solar energy and solar education to aid the Greyston Foundation in its mission to enhance the development of its community for future generations,” said Tony Napolillo, Sun Club program manager, Green Mountain Energy Company. “We look forward to the installation of this project and the resulting benefits it will bring to the community Greyston serves.”
Whole Planet Foundation®, a Whole Foods Market® nonprofit was present at the Sun Club check presentation to the Greyston Foundation on August 15. This week, Whole Foods Market Team Members volunteered on behalf of Whole Planet Foundation at Greyston’s Community Gardens as part of the group’s ongoing efforts to support socially-conscious organizations around the world.
This is the third solar donation that has been made to New York non-profits since the Sun Club New York chapter was founded in 2011. The other donations include the GrowNYC Union Square Greenmarket and the Riverside Park Green Outlook Project.
Whole Planet Foundation
Whole Planet Foundation funds poverty alleviation through microcredit in communities worldwide that supply Whole Foods Market stores with products, supporting over a million people with the chance for a better life. The Greyston Foundation and Whole Planet Foundation have come together to provide Whole Foods Market shoppers with a chance to help fight global poverty and create jobs for the hard-working poor in the U.S. and abroad. When Whole Foods Market shoppers purchase one of the Greyston Bakery's Chocolate Fudge, Walnut Fudge or Brown Sugar Blondie flavored brownies, 2 percent of the sales will go to Whole Planet Foundation to empower entrepreneurs with the chance to create or expand home-based businesses and lift themselves out of poverty.ÂÂÂÂ To get involved, visit www.wholeplanetfoundation.org.
Greyston Bakery and Greyston Foundation
Grounded in a whole-person approach, which we call PathMaking, Greyston Foundation, a pioneer in social enterprise, creates jobs and provides integrated programs for individuals and their families to move forward on their path to self-sufficiency. Greyston Bakery is an $8 million for-profit company that trains and employs more than 75 people who face barriers to employment. Greyston Bakery operates with a double bottom line, prioritizing both profits and social contributions and recently became New York State’s first Benefit Corporation.ÂÂÂÂ Greyston is celebrating its 30th Anniversary in 2012.
Green Mountain EnergyTM Sun ClubTM
Green Mountain EnergyTM Sun ClubTM is a program where Green Mountain residential customers in New York and Texas have the opportunity to give back to deserving non-profit organizations through the promotion of solar power. Direct monthly contributions from customers go toward the funding of solar installations. Since the program’s founding in 2002, Sun Club members have helped install almost 500 kilowatts of solar power, preventing over 3.5 million pounds of CO2 emissions. That’s like 3.8 million miles not driven or 11.6 million aluminum cans recycled. For more information, visit www.gmsunclub.com.
Green Mountain Energy Company
Green Mountain is the nation’s leading competitive retail provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions and believes in using wind, sun and water for good. Founded in 1997, the company celebrates 15 years delivering on the mission to “change the way power is made” and is the longest serving green power marketer in the nation. Green Mountain offers consumers and businesses the choice of cleaner electricity products from renewable sources, as well as a variety of carbon offset products and sustainable solutions for businesses. One of Green Mountain’s largest customers is the “world’s most famous office building,” the Empire State Building in New York City. Green Mountain customers have collectively helped avoid over 19.4 billion pounds of CO2 emissions. Visit us online at www.GreenMountain.com and learn more about our campaign for good at www.greenmountain.com/forgood.
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