Enough Celebrating, Time to Plan

Enough Celebrating, Time to Plan 08/04/2009

CarbonfreeDC held its first planning session Tuesday night to kick off its “Extreme Green Neighborhood Makeover” project. The meeting was a big milestone for the organization who won a $20,000 grant in National Geographic’s “Green Effect” competition to help 20 local low-income families save money and live green by making their homes more energy efficient.

The planning session was attended by over 50 volunteers eager to help out with the energy makeover. Rhys Gherholdt, the group’s Executive Director, kicked off the meeting with an overview of the project, its objectives, and the timeline. Following the summary, each volunteer introduced themselves and described their interests in the project. Participant backgrounds varied greatly from energy auditors, LEED certified builders, and members of the DC government, to individuals generally interested in improving their community.

The group then broke up into brainstorming sessions focusing on five key areas – (what was Rhys’ group called?), business outreach and implementation, media/blogging/videography, fundraising reception coordination, and DC government outreach. Each team ended up with a long list of ideas on how to accomplish its goals in the aggressive timeline laid out by Rhys. After an exchange of email addresses and business cards everyone left the meeting enthusiastic to start work on the project. The night ended with a celebratory dinner where the brainstorming and excitement continued.

Over the next few weeks, CarbonfreeDC will identify 20 low-income families whose homes are in need of eco-friendly updates. Once these homes undergo energy audits, CarbonfreeDC members and volunteers will begin installing the green improvements. When the work is finished, CarbonfreeDC will hold a series of workshops in the community to help neighbors learn how to make similar changes in their own homes.

To learn more about CarbonfreeDC, visit their website HERE. To learn more about the National Geographic “Green Effect” competition, click HERE.