What if a simple classroom project could help students experience their power to improve the world around them?
That's the idea behind Light2Give
Students learn about solar energy as they assemble a handheld solar lantern. They learn about homelessness in the US. Then they donate their completed lanterns to local nonprofits that serve people experiencing homelessness.
This project has an immediate and positive impact on the life of the homeless person receiving the lantern. And the students? They have a powerful learning experience that demonstrates how STEM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) can make the world a better place for real people living with real challenges in their own community.
Ultimately, my intention is that the Light2Give project helps students explore an important question:
"What is the light inside of you that wants to be shared with the world?"
What Is Light2Give?
Light2Give combines STEM education with authentic service learning.
Students assemble a handheld solar lantern while learning about solar energy, engineering, and renewable technology. Then students write a note to the person who will receive the lantern.
The next stage is where the magic happens…
A representative from a local nonprofit that serves the homeless visits the students to pick up the lanterns. Students learn about the challenges facing real people in their own community and how the solar lanterns (and the notes) will make life a little easier for people and even bring hope to those who are experiencing a challenging time.
The result is much more than a science project.
A student learns how solar energy works. The nonprofit educates students who will one day be community leaders. A person experiencing homelessness receives a safe, reliable source of light. And all experience a powerful human connection.
Why Solar Lanterns?
Before launching Light2Give, I spent months researching whether solar lanterns were truly useful for people experiencing homelessness. I met with nonprofit leaders around the US who have distributed off-the-shelf solar lanterns to people in need.
Again and again, I heard the same thing: Solar lanterns become one of the most valued possessions a person owns.
They provide:
• Light for safety and security at night
• Light to sort medications and personal belongings
• Light for reading and everyday tasks
• A dependable source of illumination that uses no disposable batteries
A Handwritten Note
But during our pilot program, we discovered something else. The handwritten notes from students often had just as much impact as the lanterns themselves. Recipients told us the notes made them feel seen, valued, and remembered. The lanterns brought light. The notes brought hope.
Why Students Need This Project
Teachers who participated in the pilot program consistently told me that one of the greatest benefits was how the project had students practicing and developing empathy.
Students learned that real people in their own communities face real challenges. More importantly, they learned they can do something about it.
In a world where many young people feel powerless, Light2Give shows students that their ideas, energy, and creativity matter right now.
Students gain:
• Hands-on STEM learning
• Experience with renewable energy technology
• Service learning opportunities connected to their community
• Increased empathy and compassion
• Confidence that they can make a positive difference
Our Goal: Raise $20,000 to purchase 2,000 solar lantern kits
These kits will be distributed to 80 educators across the United States during the 2026-2027 school year.
Each teacher will receive 25 solar lantern kits for their students.
Students will assemble the lanterns, learn about solar energy, write personal notes, and donate the completed lanterns to a local nonprofit serving people experiencing homelessness.
Your donation directly puts solar lantern kits into classrooms and into the hands of people who need them most.
Here's What Your Gift Can Do
$10 = One solar lantern kit for one student
$50 = Five students participate and five people receive solar light
$250 = An entire classroom set for 25 students
$500 = Two classrooms can participate
$1,000 = One hundred solar lanterns delivered into communities across America
Every contribution helps.
Why You Can Trust This Project
This is not just an idea.
Light2Give has already completed a successful pilot program involving teachers in five states.
The results were so encouraging that I'm now expanding to a larger national beta test.
Along the way, I have:
• Tested multiple solar lantern kits with classroom teachers
• Worked with nonprofits serving people experiencing homelessness to identify the best lantern design
• Secured support from experienced educators and volunteers
• Partnered with NEED.org (National Energy Education Development) to utilize their educational resources
• Created lesson plans and support materials for participating teachers
I've spent decades at the intersection of education and real-world impact. I hold a teaching degree in Technology Education from Virginia Tech, I'm a former high school teacher, I headed up the K12 division of the famous “EPICS” program (Engineering Projects in Community Service) at Purdue University, I've trained teachers from all 50 states and from around the world, and I'm a TEDx speaker on the topic of authentic service learning. I know how to build something that actually works in a classroom.
This project is also personal for me.
My mother passed away in 2019. She struggled with mental health challenges throughout much of her adult life. On several occasions, those challenges led to periods of homelessness, including times when she lived in her car.
Watching someone I love experience that reality gave me a glimpse into how fragile housing security can be. It also taught me that homelessness is not simply a statistic. It affects real people with real stories, hopes, talents, and struggles.
Years later, when I began exploring ways students could use STEM skills to serve their communities, I found myself returning to that experience. Light2Give was born from a desire to bring practical help, dignity, and human connection to people facing some of life's hardest circumstances.
Why Is the Goal $20,000?
Most campaigns ask for as much as they can imagine spending. This one asks for exactly what this project requires and not a dollar more: $20,000 funds 2,000 solar lantern kits for 80 teachers across the US.
The goal of this phase of the project isn't to solve homelessness. It's to prove — with real classrooms, real stories, and real data — that this model works at scale. Once that proof exists, the path forward is corporate and foundation grants, not crowdfunding.
You're not being asked to fund this forever. You're being asked to fund the evidence.
A Small Lantern. A Bigger Vision.
Light2Give is about more than solar lanterns.
It's about helping students understand that STEM education can be used to solve real human problems.
It's about showing young people that service and innovation belong together.
It's about helping someone who may be struggling through one of the most difficult periods of their life feel seen, respected, and valued.
Most of all, it's about creating connections between people who might never otherwise meet.
One student.
One solar lantern.
One handwritten note.
One life touched.
And together, 2,000 times over.
Thank you for helping us bring light, hope, dignity, and opportunity to communities across America.
With gratitude,
Tom Heck
Founder
Organizer
