A solar lighting initiative by PhoScope

Light Reach welcomes Jenny Werbell to the team

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Headshot of Jenny Werbell

Jenny Werbell, Community Outreach Coordinator, is a New York-based independent senior architectural lighting designer and a lighting educator.

As Community Outreach Coordinator, Jenny brings her extensive experience in marketing and communications, public programming coordination, fundraising event organization and committee work to spearhead Light Reach’s outreach efforts and fundraising events.

She holds a BA in Anthropology from Haverford College and a Masters in Fine Arts in Interior and Lighting Design from Parsons.

#GivingTuesday is a week from today.

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November 24, 2020

Give Light on Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday is a week from today. This year, choose to Give Light.

Three months after the explosion in the port of Beirut, 250,000 people are still in the dark. Light for Lebanon provides solar-powered lights to help communities get back on their feet. We are donating portables for indoor and outdoor use, and installing flood-lights and street-lights so residents can safely walk, work, and play after sunset. Please donate and help us reach our goal of $100,000 and provide 3,000 lights for the residents of Beirut!

Light for Lebanon on SWANA Region Radio

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SWANA Region Radio features Light for Lebanon in an interview with our partner Manal Kahale and our legal consultant Elizabeth Boulos. Click here to hear them explain the damages from the August 4, 2020 blast, the current situation on the ground, and how Light for Lebanon is aiding residents by providing them with much needed solar-powered lighting.

Introducing our new program partner for Light for Lebanon

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Sept. 3, 2020

  • portrait of Manal

We are very pleased to introduce Manal Kahale as our partner for our newest program Light for Lebanon.

Raised in Lebanon, Manal studied Landscape Architecture at the American University of Beirut and holds a master’s degree in Lighting Design from Parsons in NYC. She worked in the USA for four years before returning to Lebanon to try and bridge both worlds through lighting. However, her return to her home country was more difficult than anticipated with the unfolding economic crisis as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, and finally on the 4th of August 2020, the biggest non-nuclear explosion ever recorded. This catastrophe unlocked feelings of communal support triggered by the complete absence of any relief efforts on the part of the Lebanese government. As a result, Manal decided to use her knowledge and experience to partake in relief efforts both as an active citizen and a lighting designer.

We are thrilled by this partnership and by the opportunity to quickly and sustainably re-illuminate Beirut.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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June 25, 2020

In 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to guarantee the fundamental rights of each and every person anywhere in the world. The declaration was forged in the context of decolonization and became the foundation for international human rights law.

Today, too many people have yet to achieve equal rights.

At PhoScope and Light Reach, we advocate for universal human rights.

Check out the full text on the UN website

Celebrating International Women’s Day with Women in Lighting!

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March 8, 2020

Light Reach celebrates international women’s day with Women in Lighting and its one-year anniversary this week!

As a women-led initiative and organization, we are thrilled to join WiL’s global network of women and truly honored to be featured in arc magazine’s latest WiL feature article in an interview by Sarah Cullen.

One of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda is to achieve gender equality. Light Reach offers a new avenue of social engagement for the lighting community to contribute to this agenda by fostering sustainability, resilience, and light equity: we expect that new WiL teams will soon be expanding Light Reach’s positive impact worldwide. 

Light Reach is a collective effort. Please contact us at info@lightreach.net to sponsor or partner on our next projects, volunteer on a team, or just connect.

A warm welcome to our new volunteer

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February 26, 2020

Elisa Rothenbühler started her career in International Development, specializing in social programs improving maternal and child health. She then discovered her passion for design, and received her Master’s in Lighting and Interior Design in 2017. Her unique combination of knowledge and experience will be a valuable asset to Light Reach, and we are thrilled to have her on board!

Soon: a global fundraiser at WeWork

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September 30, 2019

WeWork and Light Reach will come together in October to kickstart an annual fundraiser in six global locations: New York and San Francisco in the US, Tokyo in Japan, Mexico City in Mexico, Bengaluru in India and London in the UK. We look forward to this event, and we welcome the WeWork community’s generous support for our next project!

  • map showing event locations