FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 10, 2015 This summer, Rising Sun Energy Center’s California Youth Energy Services (CYES) program will provide Bay Area and Central Valley residents with no-cost energy and water conservation services through a partnership with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), local municipalities, and local water districts.

On Friday, May 15, 2015 Rising Sun Energy Center proudly hosted the graduation of its Green Energy Training Services (GETS) Spring Core Cohort. Ten graduates were acknowledged, celebrating the completion of a nine-week intensive training program. The ceremony was attended by approximately 50 guests, including family, friends, program funders, and…

We at Rising Sun pride ourselves on working diligently to educate members of the public on useful ways to be most efficient at home and in their daily lives, and by also celebrating the hard work that our organization puts forth on a regular basis. Bright Night 2015 was an…

SAN FRANCISCO CREATIVE COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER TO  ‘DROP-A-BRICK’  IN CALIFORNIA WATER CONSERVATION MOVEMENT Rising Sun Energy Center Brings the Time-Honored Tradition Of Dropping A Brick In The Toilet Tank to California Toilet Flushers Statewide SAN FRANCISCO, CA, (NOVEMBER 24, 2014)…

Please join Rising Sun Energy Center for our “Water is Life: 2015 Urban Art Competition” on March 12th, showcasing art pieces by local talent focused on the issue of water conservation in an urban environment. The event will offer guests the opportunity to vote for their favorite art piece and…

Rising Sun is happy to announce that we have been named one of a select number of community-based organizations across the state to become an Energy Upgrade California Ambassador. We have been awarded a grant to develop and implement energy management outreach, awareness, and educational programs for our local community…

Rising Sun staff recently joined in the celebrations for the launch of Youth Impact HUB, which provides a space for youth in Oakland who are working on innovative approaches to addressing social and environmental issues in their communities. Youth Impact HUB recognizes that young people are…

Earlier this year, Nicholas Piffeteau, Toni Ayonrinde, and Lau Prieto joined the Rising Sun team as paid fellows through Collabriv, a social venture based in San Francisco that helps young professionals worldwide gain global collaboration and leadership skills. Nico…

Day one, read here Day two, read here DAY THREE: This morning I had an engaging conversation with a Vice Chancellor from Kenya and an expat living in Kenya who has developed a low cost private school model in Kenya. The organization, a for profit, opens schools in rural areas  where schools do not exist and charges parents about $6 a month per child schooling. $6 per month is about 10% of the average monthly income. Parts of the lessons are taught with model tablets that can store a great deal of curriculum, lessons and books, bringing mobile technology into the rural areas. It is an interesting model for education and one I want to think and learn more about. The morning session was about how children succeed; the hidden power of character. Paul Tough gave the keynote address, which emphasized that character building skills are as important as basic academic skills for a child's success. Character building skills are defined as curiosity, optimism, creativity, self-control, zest, gratitude and grit.  He defined grit as the passion and perseverance for long term goals. He stated that there are two critical times in a child's life were intervention in teaching these skills is imperative: early childhood and adolescence. Adolescence because of the brain’s development at this time and its ability for metacognition; reflection of one’s own behaviors and ability to change patterns, habits and behavior. This made me reflect on the CYES program and the opportunity we have to foster these character building traits with our youth. In fact, much of what we do does exactly this, but a key question is how can we continue to enhance our program to foster this and continue to develop the inner strength and resilience of our youth? A couple examples Paul gave was around teaching youth to manage failure and mistakes through consistent and honest feedback that was tough and demanding as well as supportive and encouraging. This builds trust and shows care, which is essential in building grit. He also said communicating high expectations and belief in them was critical. He defined the creativity equation as not just about brainstorming and innovative ideas, but also the ability to turn those ideas into something through productive, hard work where there was lots of iterations. These are the skills that help a young person become successful.

Rising Sun Executive Director Jodi Pincus goes to the WISE Summit in Qatar You can read on day one here. Day 2 After a depressing morning session that focused on how far away the world is from reaching the UN millennium goal of…