Operation Sunshine 

The RE-volv Solar Ambassadors at Coastal Carolina University spearheaded “OPERATION SUNSHINE” from 2018-2019, a project with the Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) Post 10420 in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. This is the second VFW in South Carolina that the Coastal Carolina Solar Ambassadors helped solarize, the first being VFW Post 10804, which was the first VFW to go solar in the country! 

VFW Post 10420 is an organization of veterans who fought to protect the United States’ interests overseas. This VFW Post is instrumental in helping the brave men and women who served in the armed forces acclimate to civilian life. The VFW Post offers necessities to veterans of foregin wars including, but not limited to, job training, financial support, and comradery. The members of the post are extremely dedicated to the mission and are always looking for newly homebound veterans to make new friendships, share stories, or lend a helping hand.

Solar Project Led by RE-volv’s Solar Ambassadors 

The RE-volv Solar Ambassador Fellows are university students from across the country who work to bring solar energy to community-serving nonprofits across the county. Through the fellowship, students are trained in solar policy, community engagement, and project management to help successfully educate their campus and local communities about solar energy. As Solar Ambassadors, students work with local nonprofits to help them go solar and develop a deep understanding of the solar energy sector.

The RE-volv Solar Ambassador Program at Coastal Carolina University was founded in 2015 and have worked diligently to gain the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) Photovoltaic Associates license to further their projects throughout Horry and Georgetown counties in South Carolina. The Coastal Carolina team has brought solar to three nonprofit organizations, including VFW Post 10420, VFW Post 10804, and The Village Group. 

The Coastal Carolina Solar Ambassadors led a crowdfunding campaign to raise the upfront capital needed to bring solar to VFW Post 10420. Through a community engagement campaign, the Solar Ambassadors helped bring awareness of solar energy to their campus and their local community. View the crowdfunding video for this campaign below. 

Solarizing VFW Post 10420

This project will empower veterans who served our country in overseas conflicts by providing a significant portion of clean energy towards their energy mix, which will lower their overall utility costs. By going solar with RE-volv, the VFW Post 10420 will save $17,400 in electricity costs over the system’s lifetime. VFW Post 10420 member says, “Money that we are going to end up saving from the solar panels will go into a special fund that will only be used for veterans that are in need.”

Connor Brooke Herndon, a Coastal Carolina University Solar Ambassador says, “The members of the VFW are a tight-knit group of people who host events for their members and others in the community. With the money they will be saving by switching to solar energy, they will have more funds to allocate for event planning, as well as allow the opportunity for them to gather resources for their members.” 

Community Supported Renewable Energy 

Thank you to the 75 generous donors who donated to this crowdfunding campaign to help VFW Post 10420 go solar! As the post pays back RE-volv each month for their solar, these payments will be invested into RE-volv’s Solar Seed Fund, a revolving fund for solar that is used to help more nonprofits across the country go solar. Additionally, thank you to Alder Energy, the installer for this project, who has worked diligently to make the project a success.