Project Porchlight Blog

Project Porchlight New Jersey has announced that its staff and volunteers will deliver one million free ENERGY STAR-qualified compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs to households across New Jersey.

Project Porchlight is an award-winning energy-efficiency initiative of One Change, a not-for-profit organization, funded by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP) as part of the Green New Jersey Resource Team.

CFL bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than an incandescent bulb, last up to 10 times longer, and can help residents save $30 or more in energy costs over the life of the bulb. By changing nearly a million incandescent bulbs to ENERGY STAR-qualified CFL bulbs, New Jersey residents have the potential to collectively save $11.6 million each year on their electric bills and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 330,000 tons. The carbon reduction is the equivalent to removing 108,900 cars from the road.

Sheila Foreman, the Campaign Manager, says, “When it comes to protecting our environment, simple actions really do matter. Even something as simple as changing a light bulb can make a huge difference. What’s great about our campaign is that the CFL bulb becomes a catalyst for individuals to make better energy saving decisions. In a huge world with large, complex problems, Project Porchlight is empowering everyday people to know that their simple actions matter.”

More than 2,500 volunteers will help Project Porchlight provide energy efficiency education and distribute free energy-efficient light bulbs to their friends and neighbors. “Volunteers are the heartbeat of our campaign in helping us to reach their communities,” says Sheila Foreman. “They are so excited about the opportunity to empower a neighbor to start making better energy conservation choices. Equally, bulb recipients have been very receptive and often commit to doing more to save the environment.”

Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, where Project Porchlight has already distributed 12,000 energy-efficient CFL bulbs, is one of Project Porchlight’s admirers. “The impact that’s impressive to me is how they’re…conveying information and an understanding and raising a consciousness level,” says Mayor Booker. “This energy injected into our city, this great movement so to speak, has helped to raise the consciousness of a city and helped us, really, gain the momentum we need to reach our very ambitious goals.”

Mayor Booker continues: “Project Porchlight brings it home to the individual and helps a person understand about climate change where you are and how it affects you, your home, your family, your community, the issues that you care about.”

Project Porchlight is a grassroots campaign, and our success is defined by volunteer support. Our volunteers harness the power of person-to person communication, reaching and influencing people from all walks of life to take part in energy conservation. Project Porchlight volunteers help us distribute energy-efficient CFL bulbs in their neighborhoods, their apartment buildings, at their schools, clubs and places of worship. They distribute the CFL bulbs as the first step in becoming an energy-efficient consumer.

Our volunteers love the experience of collaborating with Project Porchlight. Michele Caron, chairman of the Montville Township Environmental Commission in Montville Township, New Jersey, describes a recent CFL bulb distribution in Montville. “The distribution was great! It was a lot of fun. Everybody came back with smiles on their faces. It was very well received,” says Michelle. “Everyone thought it was just wonderful. They kept saying, ‘Wow, this is really cool!’”

Volunteering for Project Porchlight, adds Michelle, is a wonderful endeavor for a variety of reasons. “Number one is that everybody wants to save money, and this is a great way to save money on your household bills. Number two is that we’re saving energy and lessening our carbon footprint in town. And number three is that you get to meet your neighbors,” says Michelle. “Instead of bringing a cake over to meet them, you’re bringing a light bulb over—you’re saving calories and saving energy.”

Project Porchlight New Jersey continues to welcome the participation of groups, workplaces, faith-based communities, sports clubs and schools. To get involved, contact us at 888-767-2458.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR program, which helps individuals and businesses protect the environment by improving energy efficiency, has honored Project Porchlight in 4th place among the top five nationally ranked non-profit organizations.

“We are delighted to work with Project Porchlight and others across the country who are helping in the fight against global warming,” says Kathleen Hogan, Director of the Climate Protection Partnerships Division at EPA. “Together, we can all make a difference and protect our environment through simple everyday actions.”

Project Porchlight was formed by a group of friends in 2005 after its founder, Stuart Hickox, stumbled upon a compelling statistic from the ENERGY STAR website:

“If every household in Canada replaced just one incandescent light bulb with a CFL bulb, the reduction in pollution would be the equivalent of taking 66,000 cars off the road.”

Hickox realized that making simple and universal first actions accessible to the public could be the gateway to broad public participation in environmental protection. One Change was subsequently founded in 2006 to help bring campaigns like Project Porchlight to communities across North America and to spearhead practical, community-based initiatives that would have a global impact on the environment and the message to millions that “Simple Actions Matter.”