LuminAID and Mercy Corps Bring Light and Power to Disaster Recovery
As Flood Waters Rise, Solar Start-Up Shines a Light on Hurricane Florence Relief Efforts
CHICAGO, Sept. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Shark Tank solar start-up LuminAID is working with the global organization Mercy Corps to bring light and power to North Carolina following Hurricane Florence. The hurricane has devastated the eastern part of the state, leaving families without power and causing flood waters to drastically rise.
"Mercy Corps is on the ground in North Carolina, working alongside Team Rubicon — a U.S.-based organization that unites the skills of military veterans and first responders — to quickly assess the situation and needs following Hurricane Florence. Mercy Corps' response will focus on the most vulnerable households and people in the greatest need of aid. Our experience tells us that those priority needs are likely to include emergency cash, as well as relief items like solar lanterns that provide light and allow survivors to charge mobile phones while power is out. We are mobilizing quickly to distribute these items to vulnerable households," says Jill Morehead, Mercy Corps' Emergency Response Team Leader.
LuminAID has set up a fundraising page at http://www.luminaid.com/mercycorps, where consumers can sponsor a PackLite Hero 2-in-1 Superchargers through the company's Give Light, Get Light program. Each package costs $35 and allows supporters to sponsor a light that will be sent to North Carolina and distributed by the Mercy Corps team. Mercy Corps began distributing the first 500 lanterns last week, including 50 solar lanterns in Lumberton, 50 in New Bern, 150 in Havelock, 50 in Wilmington, and 200 in Jacksonville, NC. Many of these towns are considered actively at risk of continued flooding. The PackLite Hero 2-in-1 Supercharger can charge smartphones up to 200%, provides 300 lumens of light, and can run for up to 100 hours.
Hurricane Florence made landfall in the Carolinas on September 14th and caused record-breaking flooding along the coast. More than a week following the hurricane, flood waters continue to rise, destroying homes and leaving families disconnected as many are forced to evacuate. The PackLite Hero 2-in-1 Supercharger's integrated phone charger is powered by the sun and helps victims stay connected with family members and emergency services. LuminAID co-founders Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta were inspired to invent their patented inflatable solar technology by a guiding mission to bring safe light and power to disaster victims around the world. In 2015, LuminAID secured a deal with Mark Cuban on Shark Tank.
LuminAID will accept sponsorships at luminaid.com/mercycorps until Mercy Corps' need is met.
LuminAID Contact: Dahlia Leffell
dahlia(at)luminaid.com, (312) 600-8997
Mercy Corps Contact: Chris Allbritton
callbritton(at)mercycorps.org, (202) 718-6984
About LuminAID
When we think of our most basic human needs, we often think of food, water and shelter. But when architecture graduate students Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta were asked to design a product to assist post-earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, they considered the dangerous conditions at night in the tent cities and turned their attention to another critical need: light. They designed the LuminAID light to be easily distributed in time of need by packing and shipping flat.
In 2015, Anna and Andrea went on the hit TV show Shark Tank, and wowed the "Sharks" so much that they got offers from every Shark! They accepted an offer from Mark Cuban, and he was the company's first investor. Since then, LuminAID has continued to innovate, and in 2017 released dual solar phone chargers + lanterns. Learn more at luminaid.com/about
About LuminAID's Give Light, Get Light Program
Through LuminAID's Give Light, Get Light program, supporters are able to sponsor solar lanterns and phone chargers that are distributed by our humanitarian partners. They may also choose to purchase a lantern for themselves and sponsor another lantern for humanitarian relief. To date, LuminAID lights have been distributed to over 100 countries around the world. In 2017, LuminAID's supporters sponsored over 50,000 solar lights to be sent to Puerto Rico and the rest of the Caribbean following hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Learn more at luminaid.com/give-light.
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a global humanitarian organization committed to empowering people around the world to survive through crisis, build better lives and transform their communities for good. Recognized as a leader in delivering rapid, lifesaving aid to hard-hit communities, Mercy Corps has responded to almost every global emergency in the past 20 years, including Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico (2017), the Nepal earthquakes (2015), Philippines typhoon (2013), the Japan earthquake and tsunami (2011), Horn of Africa drought and hunger crisis (2010) and Kashmir earthquake (2005). Mercy Corps was also one of the first responders to the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004) and Haiti earthquake (2010). Learn more at mercycorps.org
SOURCE LuminAID
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