July 8, 2015

Dear Class Secretary of 1964:

My name is Pablo and I am a rising senior in Jonathan Edwards College, studying architecture. I am also one of the project managers for the Yale Solar Decathlon. 

The Solar Decathlon is a biennial collegiate competition that tasks students to envision the future of sustainable housing by assembling a solar-powered net-zero house. The houses are then assembled in Irvine, California where over 60,000 visitors can walk through and see each of the entries. 

The student-led team which is responsible for Yale’s first entry into the Solar Decathlon is asking for alumni support! We aim to reconcile sustainable housing with the concept of “home” as a place with emotional meaning. The Y-House seeks to distill the strengths of Yale: a strong design tradition, newfound STEM resilience, and a passion for cross-disciplinary collaboration. Check our Kickstarter page where we are hoping to convince alums to invest to make this house a reality. Backers will only be charged if the team reaches their goal.

Besides being featured on Yale News and Yale Daily News, we have recently been very active on Twitter (@yalesolar) and Facebook promoting our effort and trying to connect with alums on this project. We were wondering if there is any way that as an Officer of the Class of 1964 you could partner with us by sending out information about our Kickstarter to your fellow classmates. We will soon be applying for 501(c)3 status which means that all donations will be tax-deductible. We always love to hear advice on our project and how to best distribute it. Of course, if there are other means to connect with the Class we always love to meet alums face to face. 

The project will only have a chance to showcase Yale's efforts if we are able to get this sent to as many people as possible who might have an interest. Please let me know if it is possible to get it distributed through this or any other means. For more information about the project visit our website at www.yalesolardecathlon.com.

 

Juan Pablo Ponce de Leon
Project Manager
Yale Solar Decathlon
juanpablo.poncedeleon@yale.edu
www.yalesolardecathlon.com
775.315.6528