THE $10M GIRL POWER GIVE BACK

Electric buses means no greenhouse gas emissions in neighborhoods and around schools.

S Curve Strategies learned about the California Air Resources Board’s $10 million Clean Mobility in Schools Pilot Project and set out to find a school district that needed help applying. The grant is to be awarded in December 2019 to one school district in the state that brings forth a transformational electric mobility program in an area heavily impacted by poor air quality.

As any school district will tell you, they don’t have extra staff to write and apply for such grants nor do they have the extra budget to hire someone to write it for them. Knowing this, S Curve Strategies President April Bolduc made the decision before approaching the San Diego Unified School District that she would offer to write the application for free. They took her up on the offer.

Giving back with your time and talent can be more powerful and valuable than any amount of money.

Over two months of managing clients during the day and writing during nights and weekends, meeting with District officials, garnering support letters from the California state assembly, community-based organizations, the local utility and the transportation electrification industry, the 150-page document was mailed off.

This transportation electrification program is focused on community collaboration and input about the program that would serve students at Lincoln High School and its surrounding 14 elementary and middle feeder schools. It includes electric buses, electric trucks and electric equipment for the landscape and custodial crew, and electric bike pilot program, trolley vouchers, electric food delivery trucks and battery storage.

Whether or not this volunteer effort delivers a win to the District, there is no doubt it was time well spent because now the they have a package and long line of supporters they can build off of for years to come for future grant opportunities.

Special thanks to the following supporters who submitted support letters and committed to participate in the program: all levels of the San Diego Unified School District, CALSTART, Center for Sustainable Energy, Circulate San Diego, Cleantech San Diego, Environmental Health Coalition, San Diego Gas & Electric, Black & Veatch and Nuvve.

Giving back with your time and talent can be more powerful and valuable than any amount of money. That’s what makes this volunteer effort a Girl Power Give Back.