THORNRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL 15000 Cottage Grove Ave. Dolton, Il

THORNRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL
15000 Cottage Grove Ave. Dolton, Il 60419-2799
Dear Mr. Gomez,
My name is Brian Sievers and I am the mentor for the Thornridge High School Biodiesel Club. Last year we
built our own biodiesel processor, made visits to several schools to educate students about biodiesel, and we won the
prestigious Lexus Eco-Challenge. For our project last year, we reached out to the community, this year we plan to
reach out to the world.
This year, I and 10 students are developing a humanitarian project for a small town in rural Haiti. The goal of
this project is to donate a solar-powered biodiesel processor to the town of Pichon, Haiti. We are focusing not only on
lowering greenhouse gases by creating biodiesel, but intend to generate solar electricity to run the processor. We will
design, construct, and build the solar-powered biodiesel processor. To do this we will need equipment for the building
of the biodiesel processor. Ultimately, we will donate this processor to a school in Pichon that has no electricity or
running water. This project can have a huge impact on this town and students that attend the local school. It turns out
due to limited resources; Haiti is a country with many ecological problems. Most of Haiti has been ravaged by
deforestation, because their main source of fuel is wood. One of the other affects of deforestation is soil erosion.
Because of the deforestation, the soil has been left unprotected and it is being washed away in many areas. However,
a local shrub called Jatropha has numerous seeds that can be crushed to provide “seed oil” may be a savior to Haiti.
This oil can be converted into biodiesel, and that is where our solar-powered biodiesel processor can help the town
and school. Also after this plant is used for biodiesel, the waste from it can be used as fertilizer to rejuvenate the soil.
The by-product of biodiesel is glycerin, this also can be used as fertilizer. This project could help Haiti revitalize its
economy, reduce deforestation, provide a means to create environmentally friendly biodiesel, create jobs,
environmentally educate the people of Haiti, and teach the people of Haiti how to safely make biodiesel. Biodiesel
would not only be good for the environment but the entire ecosystem. This would help vitalize the economy by
creating new jobs that deals with the process of making biodiesel, and the environment of Haiti. It will also be a
fantastic opportunity for us as students to work on a project that could help people in another country. Excess energy
created by the solar panels, could be used by the school and students and hopefully the rest of the town
We will be working on this project in conjunction with Michigan State University, University of Illinois,
Engineers Without Borders, and Education for Prosperity. We also hope to work with a local high school, Mother
McAuley, and a local middle school. We plan to have them help us with this project and show them how to make their
own biodiesel system. We would appreciate any donations you can make towards our project because we want to
reach out and help the Haitian community. This will also be a fabulous opportunity for us students to gain experience
working on an international community service project. It is projects like these that build character and that students
will remember for the rest of their lives. We hope you can help us help the town and school of Pichon Haiti. This
fantastic opportunity for my students to not only work with colleges and students from other schools, but to have a
global impact on the environment and the people of Haiti. I hope will look at this project as a great opportunity to
help our club, help the students in Pichon, help the town of Pichon, and an opportunity for you to help us make a
difference on an international level. After all, this year we are “ Helping the world one drop of oil and CO molecule at a
time.”
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I am also enclosing a couple of pictures of
the school and town and our biodiesel setup we made last year.
Thornridge High School
Attn:Brian Sievers
15000 Cottage Grove
Dolton, IL
60419
Classroom Phone: 1-708-271-4640
Sincerely,
Mr. Brian Sievers
Thornridge Biodiesel Club
This is the school we intend to donate the solar-powered processor to.
Thornridge Biodiesel
Below are several pictures of our current biodiesel setup at Thornridge High School.
This is a sample of used oil and our “own” biodiesel.