Sunco Cares Charitable Contributions Q2 2020

Each quarter, Sunco Lighting donates to charitable organizations to give back to the community and the environment. This is part of our mission and is something our employees also value. Customers like you participate in our Sunco Cares program through your Sunco Lighting purchases.

Our recent donations for the second quarter of 2020 benefited these worthy conservation organizations worldwide:

Let There Be Light International: Keep the Light Shining

Mission: To combat energy poverty in vulnerable off-grid communities and to fight global climate change through the donation of safe solar lights to vulnerable, vetted individuals and communities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Although electricity is accessible to many of us and used frequently, 1 billion people do not have access to electricity. Safe lighting is not available in Africa to around 600 million people in their home, schools, health care centers, or along well-traveled roads. This means that businesses must shut down when the sun sets. People then go to a dark home with their families. At home, they utilize dangerous or polluting light options after dark, such as kerosene. This energy poverty is what Let There Be Light International strives to eradicate in creative ways.

Access to solar energy helps create productive and safer lives for communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Some of the work of Let There Be Light International benefits health clinics that were off the grid and now utilize clean, solar-electrified energy. These clinics now remain open at night for emergencies, as well as pre- and post-natal care. They also provide thousands of portable, solar lights to families who can then work on side businesses at home, safely read, and their children can safely study at night.

In addition, the use of solar power instead of burning kerosene and other fuels has averted thousands of tons of CO2 from entering our atmosphere, thereby helping Earth’s climate. It also places funds into the pocket of families instead of using income on fuel. Typically, the families Let There Be Light International has helped in Uganda, Malawi, and Kenya use the money saved on basic needs, health, and education.

As if this posting, Let There Be Light International has provided help to more than 650,000 people in off-grid Africa. Their combat of both poverty itself and energy poverty means this charity is paving a path towards a more sustainable future for people in need. Don’t you want to be a part of that?

Donate Today to Let There Be Light International

Trees for the Future: Planting Trees Changes Lives

Mission: To improve the livelihoods of impoverished farmers by revitalizing degraded lands.

Forest gardens are more beneficial than conventional agriculture for vulnerable communities. Supporting these communities – across five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa – provides a big impact to families so they can grow and manage Forest Gardens. In addition, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, forest gardens help provide food access in a family’s backyard.

Trees for the Future identifies a group of farmers – around 300 families at a time – who have both a need and a high likelihood of success. Trees for the Future then empowers these communities to succeed through education to allow the farmers to sustainably revitalize their land and diversify the produce grown on it to return nutrients back to the soil. The use of trees helps protect, diversify, and eventually optimize their crop land. The farmers provide the land, labor and water, along with entrepreneurial determination, all while inspiring a sense of community ownership.

Since 1989, Tress for the Future has planted over 187 million trees and restored over 28,000 acres. This allows farmers to plant themselves out of hunger and poverty, while they grow sustainable foods in their own backyards.

Donations create a direct impact on the land and lives of farming people who need assistance to succeed. By helping Trees for the Future plant trees, you can give families the ability to transition from unsustainable farming techniques to a Forest Garden system.

Your donation not only sustains and empowers them, but also changes their lives forever. So be the good and turn your compassion into action.

City Plants: Grow a Greener Los Angeles

Mission: To grow a greener future for Los Angeles by engaging Angelenos to plant and care for trees throughout the city.

City Plants partners with multiple non-profit organizations to plant shade trees throughout L.A. to promote green jobs and advocate for a sustainable Los Angeles. City Plants delivers up to seven water-efficient Yard Trees straight to your door for private property or they will plant the trees for you in the public parkway (between the sidewalk and the street) for homes, businesses, apartments, or schools who qualify for their program.

Planting trees benefits your energy efficiency. If planted to the west and east of a building, trees will provide shade during the hottest parts of the day. That cools the building and lessens the need for air conditioning. Less A/C use will save you energy and money on your electricity bill. Trees are also a great investment as they become more effective at saving energy with age. Using less energy as individuals can help reduce the need to generate more energy, which helps combat climate change. If enough people reduce their energy intake, the savings add up.

Prefer to volunteer your time in the future? Find City Plants in your neighborhood at a tree adoption or a community planting event. Note that this charity is still providing tree delivery services during the Safer at Home Guidelines Los Angeles is currently following during COVID-19, but group plantings may be postponed.

You can help transform Los Angeles in a more livable and sustainable city, one tree at a time. Make a difference.

Donate Today to City Plants

Jewish National Fund: Turning the Desert into a Vibrant, Green Oasis

The Jewish National Fund (JNF) has been building and connecting to the land since 1901. Their visionary campaign to plant trees, source water solutions, and fund agricultural research helps boost their goal of a vibrant oasis in place of a desert.

Trees and greenery near a city can provide much needed benefits to the community and the environment. JNF foresters work on environmental soundness while they also clean, prune, plant and allow for a natural and healthy forest. There are also fire and rescue services sponsored by the JNF in Israel. In addition, JNF addresses soil conservation, the development of agricultural infrastructure, and combating desertification.

Sunco Lighting donated towards their tree planting efforts. The National Jewish Fund forests are home to thousands of animals and birds, along with cypress trees, Atlantic cedar, almond, and the mighty oak. The NJF have created over 250,000 acres of greenery to beautify the land and provide the green lungs of cities and towns across Israel.

Donate Today to the JNF

Want to help Sunco promote a more sustainable future? Choose to donate directly to support green initiatives at home and abroad like the ones above or volunteer your time on the local level to improve your world.

Closer to home, you can also use solar lighting to reduce your landscape lighting costs and employ the power of the sun in your own yard or garden.