DC resident, Kelly Richmond was searching for a way to reduce her carbon footprint. After figuring out how easy it was to switch her apartment to Clean Currents’ wind power, she got inspired to spread the word.
Kelly started her own Green Neighborhood Challenge campaign among her neighbors in her Cathedral Heights apartment building. After assisting 7 neighbors in making the switch, Kelly branched out into the surrounding neighborhoods. She wrote to local list serves and put announcements on environmental websites. She even developed her own presentation on making the switch to wind power which she gave to community members at local public libraries. But, where Kelly found most of her success was in personal connections with the wide network of her friends in the DC area.
In the past GNEC campaign, Kelly helped 21 households make the switch to wind power, reducing carbon emissions by the equivalent of burning 19,481 gallons of gasoline or planting 4,456 trees. Kelly chose to donate the nearly $600 she raised to purchase environmentally friendly art supplies for kids through the Friends of Fillmore, a non-profit, volunteer board which supports the work of Fillmore Arts Center, of which Kelly is Chair.
Founded in 1974 as part of the D.C. public school system, Fillmore Arts Center provides quality instruction in the arts to thousands of elementary students delievered by teachers who are also practicing artists, musicians, dancers, and theater directors. Fillmore’s strength lies in it’s skilled staff and specialized facilities such as dance studios, pottery kilns, theater costumes and props, and fine arts studio space that the average public school cannot individually provide. Through the Green Neighborhood Challenge, Kelly has found a way to support two of her strongest passions: Arts instruction for children, and developing a greener, healthier world for them to inherit.
“I think for non-profits whose work supports children or the environment, participating in the Green Neighborhood Challenge is a serious win-win proposition. It’s our kids and their subsequent generations who’ll be living on this planet, so by getting families to change to wind power, we can work to insure a cleaner, safer, brighter tomorrow for all of them” says Kelly.