CFL Light Bulb Exchange Fundraiser Project
The Kohala Center in Partnership with Blue Planet Foundation
By joining with The Kohala Center and Blue Planet Foundation’s CFL exchange program, you can teach people to use less energy and help your group earn some money!
To participate, your group will agree to replace at least 500 old-style bulbs with energy-efficient, Compact Florescent Light (CFL) bulbs free of charge to the community. Your efforts will support the environment, reduce carbon emissions, and educate the community about energy efficiency and climate change. And The Kohala Center and Blue Planet Foundation will award your group $1 for every old-style bulb you replace.
CFL bulbs need less electricity to produce the same amount of light. Replacing five hundred 60-Watt bulbs with our 13-Watt CFLs will keep over 375 barrels of oil from being burned to make electricity. And that means avoiding the air pollution from tons of carbon dioxide.
The project will:
• Educate the members of your group about the perils of climate change and what it means to Hawai‘i Island.
• Provide an important service learning opportunity for your school or organization.
• Help inform your community on ways to save money and energy.
• Be an easy and safe way to raise money for your group.
CFL Bulb Exchange Procedures:
The Kohala Center and Blue Planet Foundation will work with your group to exchange CFLs through an In-School or In-Community bulb exchange program. Your group can set-up and staff a table on campus or in the community at a scheduled time and date. Any student, teacher, or community member who brings a maximum of 5 old-style bulbs will be able to trade them at no cost for the same number of new CFLs.
As an example, your group could sponsor a “Bulb Exchange Day." A table could be placed in a school or playground parking lot. Your group could print fliers announcing the event and have them taken home by students or distributed in the community. On the day of the event, old-style incandescent bulbs can be exchanged for new CFLs, and you can hold the event as many times as necessary to complete the 500 bulb exchange.
The Kohala Center and Blue Planet Foundation Support:
Blue Planet Foundation has arranged for CFLs to be available for pick-up at COSTCO in Kona at no cost to your group. The Kohala Center staff and volunteers will assist in the CFL distribution providing informational material that identify the cost savings associated with consuming less energy. The Kohala Center will explain bulb exchange procedures to your group and present an educational slide show so that you will see first-hand the impacts of climate change on the earth and Hawai‘i.
First Steps:
If you are interested in participating in this program, please follow these steps:
1. Indicate your interest by e-mailing the address below.
2. Indicate a list of dates and times that the coordinator of your group is available to meet with The Kohala Center staff or volunteers to discuss the program in person. This “meeting” can be conducted by telephone.
3. After this initial discussion, set-up a time for The Kohala Center to give an educational presentation to the group conducting the bulb exchange.
4. Sign the Memorandum of Agreement between your group and Blue Planet Foundation committing your group to exchange a minimum of 500 CFLs.
5. Coordinate with The Kohala Center and COSTCO to schedule a pick-up of your 500 CFLs.
Project Deadlines:
• Interested groups can begin contacting The Kohala Center on April 1, 2010. Groups will be accepted on a first come – first served basis until our island allotment of 5,000 CFL’s is exhausted.
• All groups must sign an MOA with Blue Planet Foundation and schedule The Kohala Center educational presentation by April 30, 2010.
• After viewing the presentation, participating groups must arrange (with The Kohala Center assistance) the pick-up of CFLs at COSTCO within two weeks, and complete the distribution of 500 CFLs by May 30, 2010.
Contact The Kohala Center:
The CFL Light Bulb Exchange Fundraiser Project is a partnership between Blue Planet Foundation (located in Honolulu) and The Kohala Center, a not-for-profit organization whose offices are located in Waimea. Blue Planet Foundations’ mission is to end the use of fossil fuels in Hawai‘i and replace them with clean, renewable, and indigenous sources of energy. And the mission of The Kohala Center is to respectfully engage the Island of Hawai‘i as an extraordinary and vibrant research and learning laboratory for humanity.
The Kohala Center is the point of contact for bulb exchange on Hawai‘i Island and will be providing direct support to participating groups on the island.
For More information:
e-mail: bulbexchange@kohalacenter.org
call: Guy Kaulukukui at 808-887-6411