Project Porchlight Blog

The annual Everything Jersey City Festival (EJCF), held this year on May 22, is truly a family event. “There are some festivals where you’ll find vendors selling beer,” says Michael Yun, Chairman of the EJCF Committee. “That’s not this festival. We really are focused on building families, our community, and our future.”

The event, which stretched along 10 blocks of Central Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey, featured plenty of activities for families, including climbing walls, street soccer, and a “Taste of the Heights” food extravaganza as well as four stages of live entertainment performed by musicians from many corners of the world.

With such a strong emphasis on families, it made perfect sense that festivalgoers also had an opportunity to make a difference for our future. Project Porchlight was on hand to educate folks 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 911 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 One Change, and the campaign is made possible thanks to funding by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and the NJCEP.

“Wow! It was so great having Project Porchlight distributing the CFL bulbs to our community,” says Michael. “Energy saving is a major issue in urban areas because we consume the most energy. A lot of people think that the energy-efficient bulbs are expensive, so having Project Porchlight give people samples to try is a very good way to educate the community about how to save energy.”

When it comes to protecting our environment, simple actions matter. Even something as simple as changing a light bulb can make a real difference. “Global warming is an important issue because we are destroying our planet for the next generation,” says Michael. “When we save energy now, we are doing something for future generations--our children and our children’s children.”

Project Porchlight empowers people to believe that simple actions matter and to make smart choices that protect the environment. “Education is the first step in making a difference,” says Michael. “Learning about CFL bulbs and then using them is a great way to start. Every time people see the CFL bulb, it reminds them that they can do something else to protect the environment. There’s no question that energy saving is a movement—it must continue to move forward. By educating people about saving energy, Project Porchlight is moving all of us ahead.”