Project Porchlight Blog

Something extraordinary has happened in River Edge, New Jersey. On October 17, more than 200 residents—many of them students ranging from first graders to high school seniors--joined together for the River Edge Blitz. With a little help from Project Porchlight, those volunteers distributed a record-breaking total of 1,476 energy-efficient light bulbs in their community!

“The bulb distribution was fantastic,” says Esther Fletcher, who serves as River Edge Council President, the town council’s contact person for the Sustainable Jersey program, and the Chairwoman of the borough’s Green Team. “The impact on the community as whole was a dramatic increase in awareness. We had more than 200 volunteers, most of whom were children from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and the schools.

“Every child took an active role in changing their local environment and making a difference in their global environment,” Esther continues. “Those children will forever remember the importance of energy-efficient bulbs, and doing their part for the planet.”

The distribution of energy-saving compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs was part of Project Porchlight New Jersey’s campaign to distribute energy-efficient light bulbs to residents across the state. Project Porchlight is an initiative of One Change, and the campaign is made possible thanks to funding by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP).

The extraordinary day was the result of advance preparation by a number of River Edge residents, including Greg Ogden, a member of the borough’s Green Team, as well as Michelle Byrnes and Kathleen Murtha, two Girl Scout moms who devoted many hours to recruiting Scout volunteers. “We did a lot of build-up before the blitz,” explains Greg. “We met with the Scout troops, and the kids were extremely excited about it. This all became part of their community service.”

Esther also credits River Edge’s strong community spirit for contributing to the blitz’s tremendous success. “We’re River Edge--this is what we do,” she says. “We work together as a community. We have amazing families with wonderful neighborhood values who invest in their communities, who care about the future, and who teach their children to care.”

The children, who were rewarded with pizza upon their return, were absolutely thrilled to participate in the blitz. “They were so cute when they came in, and they were so pleased that they were able to take part,” says Esther. “Children need to know that they’re helping, and they took an active role. That was a fantastic gift for them.”

When it comes to protecting our environment, simple actions matter. Even something as simple as changing a light bulb can have a huge impact. “You can compare it voting,” says Greg. “Some people don’t vote because they don’t feel that their one vote matters. But it does. Same as by changing one light bulb, you can make a change. If everybody changes that one light bulb, it would make a drastic difference.”

For Esther, Project Porchlight is so effective because we make it easy for people to help the environment. “Project Porchlight is a fantastic campaign because it allows people to make a small step. Sometimes we feel as if we have to make giant contributions, and the bar is dauntingly high,” she says.

“But if everybody does one thing, we make a very large impact. Then people inclined to do one thing again, and it builds from there,” Esther explains. “You get to the top of the stairs by taking one step at a time. And you change the perspective of a cultural climate one simple action at a time.”