Spirit of Service '76: Winner of the "2010 Princeton University Alumni Council Award for Community Service" 

Posted Oct. 2010 — Spirit of Service ’76 has reaped success and gained recognition since its inception four years ago. Our achievements culminated with The Class of ’76 winning the 2010 Princeton University Alumni Council Award for Community Service for SOS ’76. Our groundbreaking initiative was cited for "innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship."  

How You Can Help

    • Advise students as they develop business plans for our class competition.
    • Serve as a judge for the ’76 Business Plan Competition on Alumni Day 2011. 
    • Speak to classmates about your environmental work. Talk about starting your own green company or organization. Inspire others with your stories and lessons learned.
    • Make a donation. We need your contributions for the Spirit of Service ’76 Environmental Initiative. Our goal this year is to raise $20K by December 31, 2010. There are 3 ways you can make a tax-deductible gift:
      1. Online. We are using PayPal for processing.
      2. Pay by check using the dues form you received in the mail. Go to SOS ’76 line.
      3. Send a check made out to "PU Class of 1976” to Joci Spector, Treasurer, 7202 45th Street, Chevy Chase, MD 20815. Write "SOS ‘76” on the memo line.

    For more information, contact:

    With your support and commitment, we can have a significant impact.

    2011 Green Business Competition

    The 2011 Green Business semi-finalists will present their plans on Feb. 26, 2011, to be eligible for the $10,000 in cash awards. This year's six semi-finalists include:

    AgriText provides market and organic farming information to small farmers in Liberia by cellphone, increasing their ability to obtain favorable prices and upgrade their crops and operations. (Michael Keaton '11, Michael Perl '11)

    Let There Be Light sources and constructs solar charging stations for batteries, spreading the benefits of electric lights, cellphones and other communications to rural areas beyond the electricity grid, beginning in Afghanistan. (Josh Bachner '13, Lauren Allegro ‘11)

    Liberia onBoard will construct a factory to purchase waste wheat straw from Liberian farmers for use as the major component of a high-quality wallboard for construction, reducing costs, providing additional income to farmers, recycling materials and reducing the environmental impact of construction. (Rena Chen '11)

    Skywater combines rooftop rain collection technology and support for rural schools in Bangladesh. Funding and organizing clean rainwater capture at womens' schools will improve health, provide funding for schools through sale of clean water and provide vocational training for students. (Alexandra Douwes '11, Jennifer Keeley '11, Janelle Morris '11, Genevieve Ryan '11)

    Worldwater Liberia will create a system to provide disinfection resources to private well owners in Monrovia, Liberia, improving public health and providing employment. (Jay Qi '12)

    Vamos Energy recycles high capacity electric car batteries and develops charging stations to provide reliable backup electricity to schools, hospitals and commercial enterprises in Nicaragua. (Sarah Adams '11, Eric Donado '11, Peter Florence '12, Eleanor Elbert '12)

    Saturday, Feb 26, 2011 Schedule: 
    4:30PM    Finalist Presentation, McCosh 10
    6:00 PM  Joint Reception and Award Ceremony with Tiger Launch – Mathey Common Hall
    7:00 PM  Class of ’76 Environmental Speaker Series – Sandy McCardell ’76

    Our Accomplishments: 2009-2010

    Created and launched the Spirit of Service ’76 Environmental Initiative. We sponsored a green initiative with the following components:

    • Educational activities in environmental and social entrepreneurship.
    • The Class of ’76 Green
      Business Plan Competition
      (Official website)
    • Speaker Series showcasing ‘76’ers dedicated to environmental causes. 

    Collaborated with the following Princeton University entities in order to achieve greater impact:

    Raised over $15,000 for cash awards for our Green Business Plan Competition, with close to 100 classmates involved as donors, volunteers, or both.

    Recruited an illustrious group of ‘76’ers as judges for our competition — Jane Kenney Austin, Tom Hewson, Joe Heyison, John Irwin, Ken Moch, Rita Ormasa, Nancy Peretsman, Tom Pyle, and Brad Swanson. Our ’76 judges came from different industries, but shared the distinction of having been trailblazers in their fields.
     

    Built (from scratch) and fully documented the criteria and procedures for our competition, led by Rita Ormasa, Jane Kenney Austin, and Joe Heyison. 

    Awarded cash prizes to Princeton undergraduate and graduate students for green business plans which ranged from converting landfill waste into energy and income in Pakistan, to a wine bottle recovery and redistribution company in Oregon. 

    Kicked off our Speaker Series with Paul Hutton and Tom Hewson, both pioneers in the areas of environment and energy. Each presenter received an antique silver Speaker’s Spoon prepared and donated by Allen Scheuch.

    Conceived and conducted "Office Hours", a conference call specifically organized for classmates with a Princeton faculty member. The discussion provided valuable guidance for 76’ers who wanted to launch their own green business ventures.

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