Rising Sun Center for Opportunity

Thank you to everyone who came out to our Mural Reveal Event! 🥳 Hosting a mural on our building has been a dream since we bought our building in the 2010’s. Sean Griffin and the Emeryville Public Arts Committee have blessed us with one that is simply gorgeous and we couldn't be more proud and grateful to have it be part of Rising Sun. It's a landmark piece and brings so much brightness to the community. “I live right in the neighborhood, so this was a special and meaningful mural for me to do as well,” shared mural artist Sean Griffin. “So I put a lot of thought into the design of this mural, trying to figure out something that captured in making an empowerment piece with vibrant compositions and elements that symbolize hope and growth, integrity and creativity, and putting in the work and seeing it through mentality.” “I love the title Breaking Ground because it's what people do when they come to Rising Sun, they're breaking ground on a new foundation, a new pathway and a new future for themselves,” Rising Sun CEO Julia Hatton added. “That’s what we’re all about here.” Swipe through to see photos of the event!

A glimpse at what our policy team has been up to! This infographic explains the importance of our HRTP work at the intersection of equity and climate (see https://lnkd.in/gd2pKVnH for more info on what the heck an HRTP is). We’re making sure that the green energy transition, specifically residential decarbonization, doesn’t come at the cost of workers being underpaid and lacking benefits. These folks are helping our communities become more climate resilient, and despite a ton of public funding being set aside for the work, most public programs do not include labor standards. The HRTP we’re co-facilitating recently published research papers showing that increasing wage compensation and providing more robust benefits for residential decarbonization workers has been shown to reduce turnover and increase worker productivity, all while only increasing project costs by 3-9%. Adopting labor standards for residential decarbonization workers is a resounding win for people, the planet, and our communities’ economic prosperity and climate resilience. 🙌 Learn more on our website (link in bio) 🔗

Very excited and grateful to be a part of this work! This program will deliver direct-install electrification services to low-income households for the next several years, with Rising Sun as a subcontractor supporting customer outreach and education. Through this partnership, Rising Sun’s Climate Careers team will be able to offer decarb-readiness assessments during Green House Calls, and to refer customers to the EBD program contractors for decarb retrofits. This is an amazing partnership and will be a significant step in helping households across California decarbonize equitably!

There's still time to join us at CalREN’s first annual stakeholder forum! Register today at: bit.ly/calrenforum2024

Something exciting has been happening at Rising Sun! 👀 We're thrilled to reveal local artist Sean Griffin's piece "Breaking Ground" to the public on Wednesday, October 16th at our Mural Reveal Event! DATE: Wednesday, 16 October TIME: 4:30pm - 5:30pm LOCATION: Rising Sun Center for Opportunity Headquarters RSVP: https://lnkd.in/gSKPj4ar Please come celebrate with us and listen to the artist share about the work! 🎨

We're excited to feature in Capitalize Good LLC's Spotlight Series on Enterprise Capital! With support from Citi Foundation, Capitalize Good, and 20 Degrees, Rising Sun has been able to learn, grow, and improve our capacity to deliver on our mission. Learn more below:

This month marks 10 YEARS with Rising Sun for our Director of Climate Careers Central Valley, Darren Kumar!! 🎉🎉 Darren’s journey with Rising Sun began in 2014, when he became our first Stockton-based staff member and helped establish our very first office in the region. Over the years, Darren has been instrumental in growing our presence in San Joaquin County and has been a driving force behind the success of our Climate Careers program. With his warm charisma, sense of humor, and deep care for his team and community, Darren has consistently been a pillar of support through times of uncertainty. He’s always available to "turn off fires" (as he likes to say) and his guidance has helped many of us grow in our roles. We’re reminded by him that sometimes we have to “build the plane while flying it” (an iconic Darren quote ✈️) and that problem-solving includes ensuring all impacted perspectives are heard and supported. “Darren truly cares,” shares Sofia Canela Torres, our Senior Program Manager for Central Valley. “He is doing everything he can to advocate for his team and the community … He is a true leader and I will forever be thankful for the opportunity to be part of his mighty team.” Darren, your unwavering passion and commitment to our mission have built the foundation for our success in the Central Valley, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds with you at the helm. Join us in congratulating Darren for 10 amazing years with Rising Sun! 👏👏👏

“I used to live in a one-bedroom home with my family of five. Since I started working with Rising Sun, I’ve been able to have that additional income in my household so we were able to find a bigger place, one that has a bigger yard where my little brother can play." — Carolina Garcia-Rios, Appliance Upgrade Program Coordinator, Stockton 2024 Our 30th Anniversary Impact Report is full of inspiring interviews with program graduates sharing how Rising Sun has impacted their life and how they in turn have been able to share that impact with the community around them. See more stories at https://lnkd.in/geRw-Jjd

Our Climate Careers fall externship program is in full swing! Check out this highlight of Climate Careers youth Jaytwann Bell, who is placed with our externship partner Solano EDC: