Project Porchlight Blog

Just how busy were Project Porchlight New Jersey’s staff and volunteers during the weekend of July 25 & 26?

Check out the number of bulbs they distributed, and you’ll get some idea: Hard-working Project Porchlight staff and volunteers all over New Jersey distributed a record number of energy-efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs between Friday and Sunday—a total of 14,486 CFL bulbs!

The energy savings represented by that number of CFL bulbs is equivalent to removing 485,000 pounds of greenhouse gases from the air we breathe.
Not bad for a weekend’s work!

“This is a record number of bulbs demanding huge coordination and community involvement,” says Project Porchlight New Jersey Campaign Manager Sheila Foreman. “This fantastic weekend is the result of the combined efforts of Project Porchlight’s offices in North, Central and South Jersey. A great deal of credit goes to our terrific staff (pictured here) as well as to our volunteers, who really are the heartbeat of our campaign in helping us reach their communities.”

The CFL bulb distribution was part of Project Porchlight New Jersey’s campaign to distribute free energy-efficient light bulbs to residents across the state. Project Porchlight is an award-winning energy 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).

“It was an excellent weekend because we had a lot of events, and we all got really motivated,” says Regional Manager Jason Shapiro. “It is summertime, and we caught everyone when they were doing their summertime thing, going to a lot of different events. These summertime months are our busiest time.”

A total of 3,551 of the CFL bulbs distributed over the weekend were handed out at Home Depot stores in Bloomfield, Paramus, Montville, Jersey City, Forked River, Toms River, Freehold, Cherry Hill, Berlin and Deptford. “For the people who weren’t going to events, we figured we’d catch them doing home improvements, so we were at a number of Home Depot stores,” explains Jason.

“It was a remarkable weekend,” adds Vicky Allen, Volunteer Outreach Coordinator for Project Porchlight’s Forked River office in Central New Jersey. “It was a great weekend to be out. We reached so many people. Everybody that was out there was very receptive and wanted to know more about what we are and what we do.”

Project Porchlight is definitely picking up momentum, notes Events Coordinator Isaac Fischer of the Caldwell office. “It’s a little different this year. Last year, I was making a lot of calls to find events where we could distribute CFL bulbs,” he says. “This year, more people are calling us and asking if we can come to their events.”

Isaac spent Project Porchlight’s record-breaking weekend distributing CFL bulbs at the Quick Chek Balloon Festival in Readington. A total of 4,154 CFL bulbs were handed out at the festival. “Now when we’re out talking to the public, a lot of people have heard of Project Porchlight and know what we’re doing,” adds Isaac. “It’s nice to know that we’re being talked about.”

During the weekend, 1,149 energy-saving CFL bulbs were distributed at the Gloucester County 4-H Fair, and a whopping 3,077 were handed out at the Monmouth County Fair. Townsend Wentz, Regional Manager of our Voorhees office, points out that the county fairs are an important way for Project Porchlight to reach state residents, particularly those living in rural areas. “The county fairs are really important and a piece of historic New Jersey,” he says. “They have long represented the single greatest gathering annually of the folks in those counties.”

Summertime also brings population shifts in New Jersey, adds Townsend, as thousands of people head to resorts up and down the Jersey Shore. “I am really proud of how hard all of our people are working right now to cover the great variety of events all across our territory,” Townsend says. “They are providing opportunities for all the population of our region to get the energy savings and the information that Project Porchlight presents.”

When it comes to protecting the environment, even something as simple as changing a light bulb is important. One simple action leads to other simple actions, and when combined, these actions make an enormous difference. So far, Project Porchlight’s distribution of energy-saving CFL bulbs throughout New Jersey has resulted in the reduction of nearly 161 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions—and savings of millions of dollars for state residents.

“I am extremely proud of the hard work and cooperation and teamwork by our field reps and the staff to coordinate the events, and carry them out successfully,” says Jason. “Project Porchlight is gathering steam and rolling forward. We’re getting bigger and better--onward and forward!”