Mi Casa and Friends Celebrate Solar Energy

Mi Casa Resource Center welcomed friends and partners today to celebrate the completion of Mi Casa's 40.5kW solar energy array, which will offset 24% of the agency's total energy use at our Acoma Street home.


After a program including remarks from Stacey Simms of the Governor's Energy Office, Doug Wells of Renewable Energy Ventures, Michele Weingarden of Greenprint Denver, Christine Marquez-Hudson and Benita Duran of Mi Casa, and Geronimo Adams, a graduate of Mi Casa's Green Construction and Energy training program, we headed to the roof.

It's not easy to put a ribbon across 180 solar PV panels, but we tried! At first we hesitated to take the group up to the roof - the only way up and down are ladders, which aren't to be combined with high heels and dress clothes on a normal day. But our group was not to be deterred.

And the ribbon was cut on a beautiful, sunny Colorado day, with our panels pumping out energy in the background!

THANK YOU to the funders who made this project possible:
Governor's Energy Office
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Doug Wells, Renewable Energy Ventures

Mi Casa would also like to thank:
Jon Sullivan, 303 Solar LLC
Mike Pardun, Renewable Technology Partners
City Electric
Geronimo Adams
Shawn Larson
Josh Simpson

College Friday at Mi Casa Neighborhood Center

Posted by Naia Posniak, Program Assistant

The Mi Casa Neighborhood Center celebrated College Friday Lake Middle School on Friday, April 8, with students and staff wearing their favorite college gear.

Joel Orozco, a student at Metropolitan State College of Denver and President of MCSD's chapter of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, spoke to the students in Mi Casa's afterschool program about the barriers he faced as an immigrant student getting accepted to and especially paying for higher education. Joel stressed that plenty of resources are available for the students who seek them out and encouraged students to start thinking about and preparing for college.

After Joel’s speech, some students were asked what they thought of his experiences:

“It made me think he’s right," one female student mused. "It’s never too early to think about college. I also thought it was cool that he was the first person in his family to go to college.”

“I liked that he was from Chihuahua," one young man observed. "That’s cool because that’s where I am from.”

U.S. Census Shows Continued Growth Among U.S. Latinos

Let’s take a moment to step back and think about why Mi Casa Resource Center does what it does. According to the newly released 2010 U.S. Census data, the Hispanic population in the United States is now 50.5 million, or 16.3% of the total population.

In fact, Hispanics account for 56% of the nation’s total population growth in the last 10 years (2000-2010). Yet, the unemployment rate for Latinos is far higher than that of the population at large. Hovering around 13%, the Hispanic unemployment rate is far higher than the current rate in Colorado of 9.3%. In Denver, 27% of the Hispanic population lives below the poverty line, and only 6% of businesses in the state are Latino-owned.

Discouragingly, statistics clearly show that women of all walks of life in this country continue to earn an average of just 75% of what men take home. And in Colorado, fewer than 30% of businesses in the state are owned by women, meaning fewer women are harnessing the power of business ownership and self-employment.

Despite these sobering statistics, Mi Casa continues to work towards closing gaps in economic achievement and business ownership for Latinos, women, and any other member of our community who needs a business- or career-related boost. For 35 years Mi Casa has been a part of efforts to address these disparities, and we plan to work for at least 35 more years toward our mission of economic success for Latino and low-income families.

Solar Energizes Mi Casa's Career Training Programs

The cash flow from the federal economic stimulus may be drying up. But the solar array being installed at Mi Casa - funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) - will have an enduring positive impact in the form of hands-on experience and employment for jobless individuals and cost savings for the organization dedicated to training disadvantaged workers to participate in Colorado’s new energy economy.

The 40.5kW photovoltaic array at Mi Casa is the result of a close collaboration between public, private and nonprofit resources with the support of the Governor’s Energy Office.

“This project is a perfect example of public-private partnership where multiple goals are accomplished - carbon emissions and fossil fuel consumption are offset by electricity generated from renewable sources, private investors supply capital to jump start projects that would otherwise be delayed or never happen; and local jobs are supported for installation labor, engineering and design,” says Doug Wells, President of Renewable Energy Ventures, the private firm investing in Mi Casa’s solar array as part of a power purchase agreement.

One of the jobs supported by this project belongs to Geronimo Adams, a Mi Casa graduate who will be working to install the solar array. Geronimo (below, far left), a single father who shares custody of his six children, completed Mi Casa’s Green Construction & Energy training program in December and is looking for full-time work; he was laid off from his job as a commercial plumber in January 2010. Because Geronimo is currently receiving unemployment and the installation job at Mi Casa is temporary, he will work as an intern on the Mi Casa array to bank some experience and hopefully, leverage the experience into a full-time permanent position. “Mi Casa has provided me with a lot of support as I work to advance my situation,” Geronimo says. “I am honored to be a part of this project because ultimately it will create opportunities for other people who need training to make a career change.”

Christine Marquez-Hudson, CEO/Executive Director of Mi Casa, adds: “Mi Casa’s solar energy – as well as energy efficiency upgrades performed in anticipation of solar – offset increasing energy bills, and the cash savings will help sustain Mi Casa’s career training programs that assist workers with limited skills and education to launch promising careers in growth industries, including jobs in energy efficiency and renewable energy.”

“We believe that Mi Casa’s solar array, which will be visible from the street, will be a powerful symbol of our commitment to green jobs training and helping all Coloradans participate in the new energy economy,” says Marquez-Hudson.

Mi Casa’s 40.5kW solar array will produce an estimated 53,330 kWh per year, which will offset roughly 24% of Mi Casa’s total energy consumption. Mi Casa also invested in wide-ranging energy efficiency performance upgrades to maximize the savings from solar energy. Through Energy Outreach Colorado, Mi Casa was wrapped the hot water heater, installed a direct digital control system, replaced six old AC units with Energy Star units, insulated HVAC equipment, and replaced 112 light fixtures and ballasts with CFL bulbs and energy efficient ballasts at the agency’s headquarters at 360 Acoma Street.

The partnership with Renewable Energy Ventures, which allowed Mi Casa to take advantage of both the federal tax credit for renewable energy, as well as the Xcel Energy Solar Rewards Rebate, which was recently scaled back. Renewable Energy Ventures will own, operate and maintain the solar array; Mi Casa will pay a subsidized rate for the energy it produces.

###

Mi Casa’s Green Construction & Energy career training program is a nine-week course to help workers launch careers in the renewable energy, energy efficiency and green construction sectors. Core curriculum focuses on sustainable construction, safety, efficiency and performance upgrades, solar energy technology, as well as soft skills and work readiness training. Mi Casa’s approach to workforce development is based on best practices for putting disadvantaged individuals back to work. Mi Casa utilizes a sector-focused approach to career training, which relies heavily on the input of industry experts and employers, from the design and implementation of the curriculum through the placement of graduates in full-time jobs.

A power purchase agreement (PPA) is an operating agreement whereby a third party entity can own and operate a solar array located on a host property. In other words, the building owner provides the location and the system provider installs, owns and operates the array. The electricity generated by the array is then sold back to the property owner. This type of arrangement allows renewable energy through solar to be implemented with reduced or no capital expense on the part of the property owner. Capital costs are recovered over time with the electricity generated.

Family Night at Mi Casa Neighborhood Center

Posted by Katie Ehrlich, Mi Casa Intern

Mi Casa Neighborhood Center at Lake Middle School hosted its biannual Family Night on Wednesday, February 16. Family Night is all about giving the kids a chance to showcase what they’ve been up to in the afterschool hours at Mi Casa. It also gives parents a chance to access neighborhood resources including health services offered by Denver Health, career and business training offered by Mi Casa Resource Center on Acoma Street, and Bright Beginnings for parent readiness. But the best part about Family Night is just spending time playing, eating, and enjoying the company of family.

Mi Casa afterschoolers familiar with the Family Night events were teeming with excitement for the evening's festivities to begin. Through the support of a Target donation, we kicked the night off with a resource fair and activities for families including advice from health and financial companies, a photo-booth, paper flower making, and cookie decorating. Then everyone took their share of the enchiladas, rice, and salad provided by Revolution Foods, an organization dedicated to bringing healthy foods to school lunch tables.

Then it was time for the afterschool clubs to present their talents: Shake It Up club sang songs about life, love and social justice. Attack of the Robot club showed off their Wi-Fi powered robot (it can move back and forth, in a full circle, and bob its head up and down!). Fresh club showed off the break-dancing moves they learn every Monday. Each performance was followed by student awards to encourage the amazing attitudes and positive work we have seen in our participants throughout the year. Finally, it was a clean-up party in which everybody from staff to parents to kids helped out!

Strengthening Families Program Helps Kids and Parents Bond

Posted by Katie Ehrlich, Mi Casa Intern

Mi Casa’s Youth & Family Development department just launched a new program called “Strengthening Families” in partnership with the Denver Office of Drug Strategy. Each Thursday evening (6-8:30 p.m.) through March 24 parents and children ages 10 to 14 can come to Mi Casa for workshops on cultivating and maintaining strong family bonds.

Through Strengthening Families, Mi Casa aims to help prevent teen substance abuse and other behavioral problems, strengthen parenting skills, and build strength in families. In the past, this program has helped with typical adolescent problems like aggression, substance abuse, and peer pressure, while it has helped parents and legal guardians to create and maintain healthy relationships with youth under their care.

The program is limited to 13 families and consists of two parts. For the first hour, youth and parents meet separately to discuss themes and learn skills specific to their role. During the second hour, families practice the skills they learned, play games, and do collaborative projects.

Mi Casa’s first Strengthening Families event went great, and several families of children from our afterschool program participated. The kids made cardboard posters mapping out what they want to be when they grow up and what is important to them for a successful life. The kids also learned what their parents wanted to be when they were young. Mi Casa is excited to be a part of strengthening family connections over the next six weeks.

Call the Mi Casa Neighborhood Center for more information on the Strengthening Families program – 303-571-1881.

Turning Passion for Design into a Thriving Small Business

Gabriela Martinez studied fashion design at the Universidad Regional del Norte in Chihuahua, Mexico. By the age of 22, Gabriela operated a modest boutique in Chihuahua where she sold hand-sewn clothing from fabrics imported from Los Angeles and New York.

In 2001 Gabriela moved to the United States to take her fashion design dreams to the next level. Her English was very limited when she arrived in Denver, and Gabriela spent most of her time sewing patterns and sketching designs in her apartment. Gabriela read about Mi Casa’s Éxito Para Negocios (Business Success) entrepreneurial training program in the newspaper and she enrolled - as much to make friends as to learn about business ownership in her new country. Through Mi Casa, Gabriela made valuable contacts and learned information that not only made her feel more at home in her new city, but also helped Gabriela convert her business aspirations into a brick-and-mortar business – Gabriela Designs Denver – with a steadily growing clientele.

“Mi Casa helped me grow my business and I continue to turn to Mi Casa for counseling and advice,” she says. “Mi Casa helped me see that my market was actually much larger than I originally thought.” Gabriela realized that her largest constituency – upscale shoppers who appreciate fine, handcrafted clothing – was located close to downtown, so she recently moved her business to 321 West 11th Ave. “I found my niche with customers who are looking for unique designs and people who value handmade fashion.”

From bridal gowns to dramatic shawls to leather handbags, Gabriela prides herself on high-quality materials and unique designs for men and women. Gabriela also creates patterns and prototypes for other fashion designers, in addition to doing alterations and filling custom orders. For her handbags, Gabriela works with interior designers to collect scraps of fabric, which she uses in her one-of-a-kind creations.

Gabriela saved up to invest in second hand industrial sewing machines so that she can work with any kind of fabric. Gabriela also has a quilting machine, which enables her to work with interior designers to produce pillows, drapes and other home furnishings.

Gabriela joined local fashion associations including Fashion Denver and Fashion Group International, which quickly recognized Gabriela’s talent and invited her to participate in fashion shows. The 2010 Fashion Fest featured 18 local Denver fashion designers, and Gabriela, the only Latina competitor, nabbed the first prize with her sophisticated black evening gown with intricate beadwork, sheer sleeves and an attached scarf.

“I think my success has come from the passion behind my business plan,” Gabriela says. “My advice to other entrepreneurs is to follow your passion and don’t let anyone or anything take you off course. If we don’t risk anything, we won’t ever get there.”

Gabriela, 36, wants to begin a women’s sewing group at Mi Casa to introduce more people to the craft that has been her passion since she was a teenager. Her long-term goal is to distribute her line of clothing and accessories nationwide. And one day, Gabriela hopes to grow her business to the points that she can hire women to bring her designs to life. In the meantime, Gabriela likes the idea of sharing her craft with other women in need of a boost.

“I truly believe that in times of great distress the act of creating something with your own hands is good therapy and a positive way to rise above bad situations.”