Potomac Job Corps Hosts “Lights Out” Event to Help Save Energy

We all should have noticed by now that green is everywhere these days--in the news, politics, technology, and even fashion. We can hardly escape it on the Internet, and now with the Planet Green TV network, we can even enjoy eco-friendly entertainment 24 hours a day. That is all great as far as we are concerned, but with a million messages and ideas coming at us from all sides, it can be easy to get caught up in the quotidian routine—switching to organic foods, turning down the thermostat, recycling, etc. without thinking about the big picture of how our actions stack up.
While it is easy to get overwhelmed, it is also simple to begin making a positive impact. On Saturday, March 27th, Potomac Job Corps Center sent a clear message to save energy by participating in the National Lights Out event.

“By using less energy, and greening the electricity that we do use, we can lighten our footprint immensely”, said Harold McKelvin, residential and recreational manager at Potomac Job Corps Center. “We approached our student government (SGA) with idea to promote energy savings to students by having the lights off on the entire Center during the busiest evening of the week. SGA loved this idea and helped us to coordinate the National Lights Out event”.

Thus, from 8 pm to 9:30 pm Saturday evening on March 27th, students turned the lights off in residential living areas, and gathered by the large grill outside of cafeteria. Student government, together with Residential staff cooked hamburgers and hot dogs, and students enjoyed an evening cook out. After the tasty meal, students settled in the gymnasium to watch “Avatar” on a big screen. Many of the students brought their blankets and pillows and relaxed on bleachers.

“This was a very special evening”, said Tiana Brown, plumbing student of Potomac Center. "I enjoyed peace and quiet time on the center, and this is a great way to educate people about Green principles.”