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 Sunshine for sustainable
business and better health. Friday, March 12, 2010 |
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Hello everyone, and thanks for your continued support of our organization. Last year we had many successes and we continued to expand our networks as a business. We selected our Board of Directors; received funding from the Global Giving Competition; Anna, Dan, and I were able to travel to Nicaragua with a few volunteers- Erin Sutton, Maria Fullenkamp, and Nathan David to continue development/testing of the solar autoclave and to meet with various groups including the engineering students at the UNI; Chris McGuinness worked tirelessly on the sterilization indicator; Salud del Sol, Inc. gained publicity through a feature article in the August 2009 edition of Brass Magazine; and we were instrumental in coordinating the Wadsworth Rotary Club’s trip to Nicaragua for a solar panel installation. Congratulations are extended to our Executive Director, Lori Hanna, on her recent marriage and Daniel Hensel, Director of Product Research, who began graduate studies at the University of Liverpool in Liverpool, England. Additionally, we would like to welcome, Matt Pittinger and Chris Weiss who joined our team as Assistant Directors of Product Research.
Finally, we filed for exemption from Federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code (non-profit public charity status). I am pleased to announce that as of December 28, 2009, Salud del Sol, Inc. has been approved as a non-profit public charity!!!.
This year we will be working to continue/ finalize the design of the solar autoclave and sterilization indicator and begin testing and pilot studies of the product. Additionally, we will continue to expand our business by seeking out sources of funding through grants. Thanks again for your support of Salud del Sol, Inc. and we look forward to the growth and opportunities that this year has to bring.
-Lauren Dokes, Director of Finance
From Brass Magazine:
It started as something simple: find a project that would satisfy the requirements for an honors thesis. But what came out of a simple summer internship has grown into a nonprofit business that has the potential to impact lives across the globe. Lori Hanna ignited the fire for her nonprofit, Salud del Sol, in 2006 when she became interested in pairing solar-powered oven technology with an autoclave – an appliance that sterilizes medical equipment. Solar-powered ovens (called solar cookers) were already being built and used in a small community in Nicaragua. The idea for a solar-powered autoclave had been dreamt up and abandoned by another engineer. Because the solar autoclave would make a huge difference in the quality of medical care in rural Nicaraguan clinics, Lori took on the challenge. The resulting nonprofit, Salud del Sol, has been snowballing ever since. Click here to read the rest of the article!