On Saturday, Oct. 8 a group of Colorado College students laden with free CFL light bulbs and information about weatherization services, rebates and tax credits, will participate in an energy education outreach effort called \u201cTake Charge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Callie Puntenney \u201914, Mallory LeeWong \u201912, <\/strong>and Hannah Wear \u201913<\/strong>, co-chairs of EnAct, CC\u2019s environmental action organization, are spearheading the effort on campus. The community outreach is a collaborative effort between several groups, including Colorado Springs Utilities, Groundwork Colorado, Meadows Park Community Center, and Colorado College.<\/p>\n The CC volunteers will team up with area high school students and fan out across the Stratmoor area, meeting residents, offering to switch out incandescent porch bulbs with CFLs for free, connecting income-qualifying households with free weatherization services, and providing information to all residents about energy-reducing programs, rebates, and practices. Each two- to three-person team is assigned a route, and there are about 40 houses per route.<\/p>\n EnAct\u2019s goal is to educate the campus about sustainability issues and opportunities for improvement, Puntenney said, and\u00a0the organizers are hoping\u00a0to get\u00a0as many students as possible involved in Saturday\u2019s outreach event.\u00a0\u201cEnAct is excited about\u00a0interacting with the local community\u00a0through this collaboration effort.\u00a0It\u2019s important for CC students to give back to the community and get to know\u00a0CC’s neighbors,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cAs soon as school started we began reaching out to student groups and other members of the CC community. We teamed with the Center for Service and Learning to maximize our outreach efforts. We hope that this will be a successful event and that students will be inspired to continue to give back,\u201d Puntenney said.<\/p>\n The \u201cTake Charge\u201d program has several goals. The college students can mentor those in high school, serving as role models and answering questions about the path to college and college life. The program also helps educate students about energy efficiency and renewable energy, and introduces them to \u201cgreen\u201d job resources. \u201cThere is a new energy economy, and the labor industry is changing,\u201d says Stephanie Fry, program manager with Groundwork Colorado. \u201cThis can help excite students about green jobs and educate them about the industry. It helps them realize there are costs, benefits, and consequences of exploration, development, and consumption of renewable and nonrenewable resources,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Usually Groundwork Colorado organizes the volunteer day, however, Fry said that the EnAct organizers have taken a \u201cstrong leadership position\u201d and this is the first time that students have run the event. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Saturday, Oct. 8 a group of Colorado College students laden with free CFL light bulbs and information about weatherization services, rebates and tax credits, will participate in an energy education outreach effort called \u201cTake Charge.\u201d Callie Puntenney \u201914, Mallory LeeWong \u201912, and Hannah Wear \u201913, co-chairs of EnAct, CC\u2019s environmental action organization, are spearheading … <\/p>\n