GRID Alternatives, with the support of a group of Monterey Institute students, is helping to make solar energy accessible to low-income families in the Monterey Bay area.

Giving Back: MontereySTART Features Six Monterey Institute Student Projects

December 17, 2012

Six projects are currently featured on MontereySTART, a micro-philanthropy network created to help Monterey Institute students fund projects, new enterprises and immersive learning opportunities.

The projects are as diverse as the Monterey Institute student body. They range from individual student projects to larger group projects. Following is a short description of the projects highlighted this December:

Benedicte Gyllenstern has plans to continue work she has already started, offering photography classes to young people in a small village in the Peruvian Andes. Her project is called the Children of Inti Photo Project and she is looking to raise enough money to exhibit a collection of her students’ photos in Peru, the United States and Norway.

Lynn Elaine Slaughter-Naves is asking for contributions for her work on a website called WorldWide Women’s Self-Defense. She wants to create an online “hub” for self-defense programs for women.

Giving Back to Haiti is a project conceived by two Haitian American students, Christie Charles and Esther Dupervil, who would like to offer their professional skills by teaching English and promoting sustainable development.

The H2Nica Film Project was created by three students, Christina Lopez, Manuel Martinez and Richard Hansen, who are working together on a documentary about the water crisis in Nicaragua.

A group of MIIS alumni and friends in the Washington D.C. area have established the D.C. Scholarship Fund. Their goal is to grow the fund, designed to help MIIS students finance a summer internship in the U.S. Capital.

A group of Monterey Institute students have partnered with GRID Alternatives to help make solar energy accessible to local low-income families. The project, Solar Panels 4 Castroville, has the triple effect of helping families reduce the financial burden of electric bills, producing lasting positive environmental impact and not least, providing the students with an important learning experience.

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