When the city of Federal Way, WA needs volunteers, Todd Beamer High School [1] teacher Scott Haines (pictured here) is one of the first to get the call. “We’ve supplied literally hundreds of volunteers,” says Scott. “Our high school is really involved in getting volunteers for local events and things like that.”
As the school’s Leadership Class Advisor, Scott firmly believes that his students will learn how to become strong leaders through service learning—combining classroom curriculum with meaningful service within the community. “By going out and serving, (students) learn way more than they would in the confines of the classroom,” he says.
Scott rallied approximately 40 of his students to participate in the September 22 Federal Way Bulb Blitz. Together, they delivered 1,000 free compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs throughout the city’s neighborhoods, going door-to-door and empowering people with the knowledge that simple actions matter. The students are required to complete 35 hours of community service for Scott’s course. But he has yet to meet a student who doesn’t end up feeling happy and grateful for the volunteer experience.
With Project Porchlight, his students “were ecstatic,” he says. “They really got into the fact that they were making a difference in the community.” In fact, the high schoolers had such a great time during the community blitz, they signed up to volunteer at Project Porchlight partner Puget Sound Energy [2]’s Rock the Bulb campaign [3] event on September 26 and 27.
Scott has worked hard with his colleagues to create an academic environment that places high value on volunteering and community service. He feels that Project Porchlight was a perfect fit for the school’s vision; it taught his students the value of giving back and it empowered them with the knowledge they need to make smart decisions that protect the environment. “We wanted to do something to help people be more efficient, and to let the kids go out there and be a part of it,” he says. “I think it’s a critical link in helping them make those choices for a lifetime.”
Washington state’s oldest local energy utility, Puget Sound Energy [4] serves more than 1 million electric customers and nearly 750,000 natural gas customers in 11 counties. A subsidiary of Puget Energy [5], PSE meets the energy needs of its growing customer base through incremental, cost-effective energy conservation, procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great customer service and delivering energy that is safe, reliable, reasonably priced, and environmentally responsible. For more information, visit www.PSE.com [6].