Project Porchlight Blog

Hundreds of school-age children and their parents turned out for the East Orange Earth Day celebration on April 22 in East Orange, New Jersey. There was much to celebrate that afternoon at City Hall, namely the accomplishments of the Department of Public Works (DPW) Clean & Green Environmental Education Center (C&GEEC) as well as the 10 local schools that participated in East Orange’s Environmental Ambassador Program. Exhibitions on their studies—mostly on water conservation this year—were on display in City Hall’s rotunda, along with artworks honored in an environmental poster contest that was open to students in kindergarten through third grade.

“We’re very proud of our East Orange students,” says Knadya O’Kelly, East Orange’s Special Events Coordinator of C&GEEC and Vice-Chair of the Essex County Environmental Commission. “The showstopper this year was the East Orange Community Charter School. Their students built a greenhouse out of 500 discarded water bottles.”

Project Porchlight also proved to be a big hit at the event as we educated families about the energy savings offered by compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs as well as the energy efficiency programs that are available through New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP). A total of 100 CFL bulbs were distributed at the event, 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 the community-based social marketing leaders One Change, and the campaign is made possible thanks to funding by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and (NJCEP).

Knadya was thrilled to include Project Porchlight in the event. “I love, love, love Project Porchlight—it’s such a wonderful campaign,” she says. “It’s not just about giving out a light bulb. It’s the knowledge and education that Project Porchlight provides. Project Porchlight goes the next step with education. The campaign is bringing awareness to everyone by teaching folks about all the things you can do in your home to promote energy conservation. You learn why you should use the CFL bulbs and what you are going to be saving in your house and outside of your house.”

When it comes to protecting our environment, simple actions matter. Even something as simple as changing a light bulb is important. Project Porchlight empowers people to believe that simple actions matter and to make smart choices that protect the environment. “It’s giving people that first step,” says Knadya. “Then they’ll think, ‘Oh, if I can do this with a CFL bulb, let me see what else I can do.’ We have a lot of residents who have done that. Project Porchlight is definitely having an impact. It’s working in both urban and suburban communities.

“If I have 300 people, and each one of them took a bulb and then told another person about it, then you’re reaching 600 people,” Knadya adds. “And if each of those people tells another person—well, that’s word of mouth. Each one, teach one, and together we can do this thing.”