Sponsor a Cal Poly student to work, learn, and make a difference.
Your donation to this project provides materials & funds for an engineering student to build one rechargeable, solar-powered LunaLight in the Cal Poly laboratories. The students learn to build and engineer a real product, and also learn the meaning of giving back. Each light produced in the 2012 LunaLight project is donated to a village in rural Kenya, where they help families to make more income, children to study at night, and brighten the futures of people in need.
Sponsor a Cal Poly engineer and support a family in KenyaSuggested Donation = $100, cost of one LunaLight project. |
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Read about the Cal Poly project
They LunaLight is a solar-rechargeable LED lantern designed for people in developing countries. The first iteration was created in 2011-2012 by multi-disciplinary team at Cal Poly. This year, a team of five engineering and two entrepreneurship students are focused on bringing down the cost of manufacturing the LunaLight. Bright. Sleek. Durable. The LunaLight contains rechargeable batteries that are charged with the included solar panel. Stored energy in the batteries power the bright white LEDs, or charge a cell phone through a built-in USB port. With an ergonomic strap, the LunaLight is a portable, hands-free light that is both brighter and longer-lasting light than products currently on market. The 2012-2013 team is redesigning the LunaLight so it can be manufactured on a larger scale, reducing the cost to the end user. The outer shell will be injection molded, allowing for quick and consistent creation of the LunaLight. 
Early LunaLight design on the left, new prototype on the right. Support hands-on education and help these students build social entrepreneurship by making a donation today. |
Village life in Kenya In the village of Enoosaen, in rural southwest Kenya, families live in small mud huts with no windows. The typical family lives off an income of $1.30 per day, and as much as half of this income is spent on kerosene for lighting. Children, who work long hours in the fields each day, need light in order to learn and study at night.A solar light helps a Enoosaen family save money on kerosene, and afford more food, clothing, & medicine. The light helps adults to extent their workday and increase their income, and children to receive an education. A donation of a LunaLight gives these families a chance at a brighter future. The lights produced in this partnership with Cal Poly will be donated to the Enoosaen families, and Maasai communities outside of Kilgoris, in southwest Kenya. The first donation will take place in March 2012, and will continue throughout 2012. |
One Million Lights — For this project, Cal Poly Engineering is partnered with One Million Lights, a 501(c)3 charity based in Palo Alto, CA. Our mission is to improve the daily lives of children and adults by providing clean and healthy lighting. We distribute environmentally friendly, rechargeable solar lights around the world, replacing dangerous and polluting kerosene lamps.
