Queensbury Union Free School District has received a Champions of Change award from the New York State School Boards Association in recognition of the Adirondack Solar Alliance, a group of students who raise money for and install solar panels on nursing homes in Puerto Rico.
The Adirondack Solar Alliance, started back in 2021 by brothers Bryce and Troy Jorgensen, has now grown to include students from Queensbury, South Glens Falls, Lake George and Schuylerville. The students present to businesses and raise money to purchase solar panels and then travel to Puerto Rico to install them.
NYSSBA, which provides training, information and advocacy for school boards across the state, recognizes school programs that have received positive press for their innovative programs.
Patrick Longo, NYSSBA’s member relations manager, attended the Aug. 12 Queensbury Board of Education meeting to present a Champions of Change banner to Troy and his classmates Maddie Moger and Chase Baker.
“It was a great experience,” Chase Baker said, “seeing the people at the nursing home with their oxygen devices and their refrigerators that needed power, and they were just so appreciative for everything that we were doing. It was really a transformative experience in my life, and I’m sure everyone else’s life too.”
Maddie Moger said the group of students raised $30,000 in less than a year to complete their second solar panel installation.
“We’re in the process of looking for a site in Puerto Rico to complete our third installation in the spring of 2025,” she said.
Longo said the students were leading by example, and he hopes other schools emulate their actions.
“It’s just an amazing thing. It had all the elements,” Longo said. “They really, truly are Champions of Change.”