When the Livingston Senior and Community Center in Livingston, New Jersey, held its annual Winter Class Sign-Up on December 15, residents could visit the center to enroll in a wide range of classes and programs.

There was also something new offered this year: Project Porchlight was on hand to educate residents about the energy savings offered by compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. A total of 80 CFL bulbs were distributed, part of Project Porchlight New Jersey’s campaign to distribute energy-efficient light bulbs to residents across the state. Project Porchlight is an energy efficiency program run by the community based social marketing organization One Change. The campaign is made possible thanks to funding by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP).

“Having Project Porchlight here was absolutely wonderful,” says Recreation Director Ronni Zuckerman. “Project Porchlight is wonderful because it gets people familiar with the CFL bulbs. They see the bulbs and then they know what to purchase when they go out and buy them. Also, everyone likes a sample of something to try out that doesn’t cost any money; you can’t disregard that.”

When it comes to protecting our environment, simple actions matter. Even something as simple as changing a light bulb is important. In addition to bringing Project Porchlight in to educate residents about energy efficiency, the township has a terrific recycling program. “Livingston has a great program we call ‘techno trash,’ which means that we collect computers and telephones and all electronic appliances,” says Ronni. “We contract with a company that recycles those things, and they give us money back. It’s a win-win situation, because we’re saving the landfills, and we’re getting some municipal funds.”

Project Porchlight empowers people to believe that simple actions matter and to make smart choices that protect the environment. According to Ronni, this is crucial for getting people to become more environmentally conscious. “I think the trend of people becoming more green is being accepted more and more,” she says. “People see that a community is involved in it, and people want to belong to a community. Participating helps them become a part of the community. Which is good, because we all want to conserve energy and recycle more. We want to keep life good for everybody.”