Let There Be Light!
Young Professionals, Direct Energy Execs & Philanthropists Party for a Cause
By Shelby Hodge //
Photography Emile C. Browne
When three philanthropic young professional couples called on friends to salute Direct Energy’s Give Brighter 12 program, it was, forgive the pun, a brilliant happening. PaperCity sponsored the event at B&B Butchers where Luci lights, the centerpiece of the program, decorated stairways, bars and tabletops.
For each customer that signs up for Direct Energy‘s fixed-rate energy plan, the company sends a solar-powered Luci light to a family or business in the developing world. That generous gift inspired the turnout of several hundred young professionals who took over the upstairs party space and skyline-view terrace.
It was all in the family for the chairs — Liz Love Ross and Adam Ross, Liz’s brother Benton Love and wife Ashlee, and Liz’s sister-in-law Kelly Ross Canova and husband Travis Canova. And all in the family for Houston-based Direct Energy, which had a number of staff on hand.
“This is a unique partnership. It’s a pioneering program for our industry,” said Jayesh Shah, Direct Energy’s commercial director for Texas. “We just want our customers to know that we do much more than what an electricity provider normally does. It’s a genuine program that highlights what our mission is and that is to make a difference in people’s lives.”
The inflatable lights that can provide illumination in dark corners of the world, as well as at a camping site or during a power outage, is the brainchild of New York-based Mpowerd. Co-founder John Salzinger was in from New York for the event.
“This is our first corporate partnership,” he said. “It’s the corporate world combining with the core purpose world, the socially conscious world and it has raised our gift program 500 percent. We were able to immediately mobilize around the world.”
Getting a handle on the practical yet whimsical Luci lights were PaperCity publisher Monica Bickers, Matthew Goossen, Sarah Padua with David Cordua, Krystal Finch, Nick Scurfield, Jackie Effenson, Emily Hanley, Rachel Ebersole, Dillon Sorenson, Katie and Ben Wylie, Angela Austin, and Margot and Zack Davis.
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