AARP Event Makes an Impact!

Byjessicamullerpearson
Main Site

On September 20, Green Light New Orleans was delighted to host over a hundred AARP volunteers who were in town for their annual conference. Many wonderful folks over 50 from around the country worked on projects throughout the city as a part of AARP’s “New Orleans Reimagined voluntourism” event.

We would like to extend a special thank you to all of the volunteers who participated in Green Light’s Tip the Block and free energy efficient light bulb programs. By installing free energy efficient light bulbs, volunteers helped residents save money on their bills and reduce their carbon footprint. In conjunction with Green Light’s Tip the Block partner organization, The New Orleans Food and Farm Network, volunteers also helped residents increase food security and decrease their grocery bills by building backyard vegetable gardens. Additionally, others helped to reduce neighborhood flooding and lake pollution by cleaning and marking storm drains with another Tip the Block partner, Bayou Land RC&D.

In total, 27 volunteers built backyard vegetable gardens and cleaned and marked storm drains, 15 worked on a community garden, and 88, including tennis star Martina Navratilova, installed CFLs in over 60 homes.

Thanks to AARP, we made a huge impact in the Leonidas community, directly impacting 70 residents and indirectly impacting an additional 500 through water mitigation.

Impact from AARP’s “New Orleans Reimagined” Event:

Total number of CFLs installed: 533 bulbs
CO2 reduction from the light bulbs: 238,251 lbs
Amount of money residents will save over the lifetime of these CFLs: $24,518
Backyard vegetable gardens built to provide residents with fresh produce: 5
Number of blocks where storm drains were cleaned and marked: 50

For those who participated in backyard vegetable garden planting we will continue to provide updates on the gardens you helped build. Stay tuned!

We encourage all our AARP volunteers to check out our impact map from the day. You can scroll over the project icons to find your name, pictures, and the impact made at each residence.

You can learn more about Green Light’s free energy efficient light bulb program here.

You can learn more about Green Light’s Tip the Block program here.

Find us on facebook for more pictures from the event!