Tracey’s Place of Hope

For the past 14 years, Raiders great Fred Biletnikoff and his wife Angie have dedicated their lives to helping adolescent girls who are facing the same hardships their beloved daughter Tracey tried to overcome. The Biletnikoff Foundation extends their arms to girls struggling with mental health and substance abuse problems to help them get on the road to a full, healthy recovery.

Raiders’ fans may recall the tragic death of the Biletnikoff’s daughter, who was recovering from her own substance abuse issues in 1999. The family’s foundation now works to support girls going through many of the same struggles and helps provide a safe environment for them to live.

From stale to stylish

From L to R: myself, Fred Biletnikoff and SMA’s Don Buck looking over design plans.

Feeling safe at home is a tremendous first step for these girls, but living in a house that’s cramped, cold and often in need of repair makes coming home a painful reminder of their troubled pasts. The current house, located in the beautiful Northern California foothills, is in desperate needs of remodeling. With the support of the foundation and generous community members, including SMA, the house will not only become a worthy home, it’ll be energy neutral.

Removing the burden of electric bills will allow the foundation to put their financial focus where it belongs: the girls. Our team will work closely with the contractors who are donating their time throughout the design and construction process to install and commission an 8kW solar system.

Roof space will be a challenge and the system will most likely be unconventional. Based on current designs, the system may only allow for 5kW worth of modules on the house’s only south-facing roof area, leaving us to plan for an additional 3kW on the home’s ample west-facing roof area.

The existing guest house and only south-facing roof, prior to its full rebuild.

Just the beginning

We’re honored to support the Biletnikoff Foundation and the girls who call this house their home. It warms our hearts to help in their recovery. We’ll provide updates along the way, from the groundbreaking to getting our hands dirty converting the house to clean energy and all the way to ribbon-cutting and moving day.