For HomeFront, the nonprofit whose mandate is ending homelessness in Mercer County, the installation of an 84-kilowatt solar array on its new Family Campus in Ewing is the gift that keeps on giving.
Not only will the gleaming panels help the agency go "green" and cut HomeFront's energy bills by at least half, but the generosity of NRG Energy of West Windsor will also free up cash to help feed, clothe and house needy clients.
And the benefits cut both ways, says NRG's chief administrative officer, Tanuja Dehne.
By donating, designing and installing the solar mechanisms, the company gave 30 employees from various departments - all volunteers - an opportunity to give back to the community while mastering new skills.
"We learned what it takes to install solar, we learned what it takes to harness the sun and we learned about our business in a different way," Dehne says.
Not a bad return on investment for either party. When nonprofits and private industries work together, the results are often larger than the sum of both their parts.
RELATED: Grazing sheep another example of using a renewable resource
The installation of the solar array marks one more chapter in a partnership that began in 2007, when NRG supplied the dollars needed to keep HomeFront's summer camp afloat. It's continued as NRG employees help with back-to-school and Thanksgiving drives, camp programs and other initiatives.
Earlier this month, HomeFront's new Family Campus began housing its first families on the site of the decommissioned Marine Reserve Center in Ewing.
Connie Mercer, HomeFront's founder and executive director, envisions what she calls a "warm and welcoming village of healing and hope" at the one-stop social service campus.
In May, the agency received a boost in the form of a $1 million challenge grant from the David Tepper Charitable Foundation, the largest gift in its history. The foundation, which concentrates on issues of hunger, poverty and education, has also given $15 million to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.
With help from these friends and others, HomeFront can concentrate on the important stuff: easing the burden on the region's homeless individuals and families.
"I can give more security deposits. I can buy more food. I can set up more programs to help families claw their way out of poverty," says Mercer.
And because of those 275 panels reflecting the sun's golden glint, she and her staff can do it all while minimizing damage to the fragile planet we call home.