Project Porchlight Blog

For Christine Todd, nothing is more important than teaching her seven-year-old daughter, MaKayla, that she has the power to make a difference. “I’m trying to set a good example for her by doing volunteer projects,” says Christine, who works as Vice-Principal at a Fort St. John, BC elementary school. “I want her to know that, just because you’re one person, it doesn’t mean your actions don’t count. Everybody’s actions all add up together.”

In the past, Christine’s efforts have included volunteering for activities such as the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, where she manned the BBQ and MaKayla helped serve hotdogs and drinks. They had a great time, and plan to attend the event again this spring. But Christine has always had a special interest in exposing MaKayla to environmental initiatives; she graduated from Guelph University with a degree in environmental science. So she began looking for green activities they could do together.

This fall, the mother-daughter team distributed 100 Project Porchlight CFLs throughout their neighbourhood. “MaKayla really liked it,” says Christine. “She was shy at the beginning… but by the end, she was doing it all by herself.” Getting MaKayla to deliver both the Porchlight information and the CFL was important to Christine; she wants her daughter to see that she can have an impact with the simple act of handing her neighbour a light bulb.

Christine brings up a quote by Edward Burke, a statesman and writer in the 1700s: "Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little." That quote, she explains, sums up the lessons she wants to impart to MaKayla. And it also reflects a core belief behind Project Porchlight: simple actions matter. “The whole project started with one person handing out light bulbs in his neighbourhood, and now it’s spread right across the country,” says Christine. “(Executive Director Stuart Hickox’s) idea was one person’s idea, and that has had a big benefit. It’s reached out to a lot of people.”

Christine and her daughter plan to continue giving back to their community. This June, in addition to resuming their post at the Relay for Life BBQ, she and her daughter will help plant trees in Fort St. John. And, if MaKayla gets her wish, they’ll be delivering even more CFLs next year. It seems that she’s already realized the difference she can make, and she has no intention of stopping now.