East Brunswick Teens Bring Light to Union Beach

On Sunday, April 21st, 15 teens representing Young Judaea and the East Brunswick Community (East Brunswick Jewish Center, East Brunswick High School Softball Team) joined with Project Reduce Young Judaea to install CFL light bulbs in Union Beach in homes impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

Working with Gateways Church of Christ that coordinates all volunteer Hurricane Sandy relief efforts in Union Beach, the teens replaced over 200 incandescent bulbs in 15 homes with 60-watt equivalent CFL bulbs.  Additionally, Project Reduce left over 100 additional bulbs in the Hurricane Sandy Relief Center in Union Beach to help additional people in Union Beach.  

The benefits to the victims of Hurricane Sandy include the following:

• New light bulbs throughout their homes 

• Light bulbs that last up to 10 times longer than regular incandescent bulbs 

• Reduced energy bills because CFLs utilize 50-80 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs 

Moreover, replacing a single incandescent bulb with a CFL will keep a half-ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere over the life of the bulb, reducing the impact on the environment in areas that have already seen tremendous destruction to the environment due to the Hurricane.

Project Reduce Young Judaea was co-founded by Shelby Lipson (East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick Jewish Center) and Anna Horowitz based on their experiences on Young Judaea’s Alternative Winter Break in New Orleans.

In New Orleans, they worked with Green Light New Orleans to deliver and install CFL bulbs to homes impacted by Hurricane Katrina.  After they returned from New Orleans, Shelby and Anna received a “Sustain the Change” Microgrant to bring their volunteer experiences home to NJ.  Project Reduce was founded to bring the principles of Green Light New Orleans to New Jersey.  

“I have been involved with Hurricane Katrina fundraising and clean up since I was in 5th grade.  When we started Project Reduce YJ to bring what we learned volunteering in New Orleans back to New Jersey, we were not expecting to be involved in such massive Hurricane clean up right in our own backyard,” said Shelby Lipson.  “It has been amazing to be able to help out in our own community and make a difference for the people of Union Beach. My family went to volunteer in Union Beach just after the hurricane hit and coming back it was great to see how much has already been done, but also how much more still needs to be done. We know that installing light bulbs is a small piece of a much larger relief effort.”

Stephanie Blitzer of East Windsor has volunteered with Young Judaea’s Alternative Winter Break in New Orleans for the last three years. This past winter, Steph led the AWB programs that included a group that provide Hurricane Sandy relief.

“Volunteering in Union Beach was an amazing experience. I never thought that I would ever be needed to do hurricane relief in my own state. I had spent three winter breaks in New Orleans helping with Katrina relief and it felt great knowing I could help out in my own community. Even though I was only installing light bulbs, I saw the thankfulness in the eyes of the residents of union beach and I felt like I was really making a difference.”

That difference was echoed by the people whose homes had CFL bulbs installed by Project Reduce volunteers.  "I was so pleased with the job these young people did for such a worthwhile cause,” said Mrs. Favara.

Jody Mack commented on the outstanding program with “such great kids who were very helpful and courteous.”

Colleen Burke said "The new bulbs are fantastic. The volunteers were so helpful.”

The benefits were not only to the Union Beach community.Jess Dudra, a senior on the EB softball team, said “It's always great to help people, but volunteering as a team was rewarding in a whole different sense. Not only were we able to assist a tragedy-stricken community, we got to bond and become closer as a team.”

Becky Finkelstein of East Brunswick Jewish Center said “ It was inspirational to see the regrowth of Union Beach and it was great to talk to the victims and see how they were staying strong after the hurricane.”  

The East Brunswick Jewish community supported the Project Reduce efforts by collecting CFL bulbs and donations in conjunction with the Tri-Synagogue PurimFest 2013 and by a sponsorship from the Jewish Federation of Middlesex County Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.

Additional support came from a donation of over 100 CFL bulbs from Lowes of East Brunswick.

-Project Reduce YJ

Editor's note: For more information on Project Reduce YJ, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lightsonyj.