It has been a week since the first volunteer push of the Community Carbon Challenge. With the enthusiasm of all the volunteers, we had achieved our first goal by signing up more than 140 people in the Job’s Addition Neighborhood on Monday, July 11. Thank you – Amber, Drew, Emma, Ian, Lauren, Meryl, Nathan and Nick!
Our volunteer training took place on Sunday night and Monday morning. The four trainers, Chelsea, Ellen, Jared and Jue, had spent the previous week to get ready for the materials. Carly, the volunteer coordinator of the CCEP (Corvallis Community Energy Project,) generously offered her place to accommodate all of us. By the time we sat around the living room, the weather had cooled down. We had put together a quick dinner of butter-grilled zucchini, pasta and sautéed greens after the day of travel. (Thanks to all who’d brought food.) We started to introduce ourselves by saying our names, where we are from and the coolest thing we saw at the Oregon Country Fair.
Ellen and Chelsea gave the group an overview of the organizations we are associated with. The next morning we practiced the script among each other and gave feedbacks on what worked best and what we could improve. Then we divided up in pairs to work on respective areas in the Job’s. Our schedule was pretty packed with one three canvassing sections (morning, afternoon and evening) and two lunch breaks.
During the breaks, we had mini-debriefs about our experiences of each section. All of us were high in spirit as we gathered for lunch (Chelsea had taken on the role of “driver of the day” and got us ingredients to make simple and delicious sandwiches. Emma wished she could just canvas straight for another three hours.
After coming back from our last sections, we sat at the table and reflected how the day went. If we were to conclude that in one word, we would use “success.” It was not only success in terms of signing people for the carbon challenge, but also of personal growth. All of us had learned something by talking with people and building a personal relationship with people in the neighborhood. Almost all of us had that an-hour-long conversation with someone from Job’s, with whom we felt connected. We also re-evaluated the process of the training as a group. Several of us suggested that we could have longer practice sessions before we went off. With the feedbacks, we are confident that the next training would be an equally rewarding, if not more, event!
Most of the volunteers left on Tuesday morning after a breakfast of potato (sautéed with onions and herbs fresh from Carly’s garden) and eggs. Everyone wrote down one character or two that they thought would appear in interesting door-to-door scenario. We had a sweet group hug outside of Carly’s house and went on our various adventures. The rest of us who had the time to stay talked to more people in the Job’s neighborhood. The sky was as blue as it could ever be at 2pm that day.
Some of our volunteers emailed us their thoughts for the canvassing event. It had been a pleasure to read these. As trainers, we are growing with our volunteers as the program progresses.
Words from EMMA:
I came to Corvallis expecting to be working to reach a goal of getting a certain number of people signed onto the Community Carbon Challenge. Soon after I was trained and started canvassing, my perspective changed. I discovered that Summer of Solutions canvassing is really relaxed compared to my previous perception of canvassing. In SoS canvassing we do not want money; we do not even want people to sign a petition. The goal is to have quality conversations with people about how we can work together to reduce energy use and asking them what they have done so far. It was incredibly inspiring to me. After our first canvass hour we started using the term “DE” for people who have done everything on the list (except maybe put solar panels on their roof). I was impressed to see how much individuals in a community have done already, including obscure items such as cleaning the coils behind their refrigerators or turning their water heater down to 120 degrees. I previously thought, “Americans are so far behind.” However, after talking one-on-one with a lot of Americans, I see that at least in some neighborhoods Americans are doing amazing things. The one thing lacking is the connection between members of the neighborhood. I cannot wait to see and talk to the Job’s Addition Neighborhood once everyone is working together and the DEs are offering knowledge, advice, and encouragement to those who are not quite at the forefront of the movement yet. A beautiful future lies ahead of us all if we talk to our neighbors and realize our true communal potential and make the most of it.
Words from DREW:
Walking up to the door and nervously waiting after knocking kept my thoughts in flux. I tried to remember what I needed to say, going over the list silently in my mind. “Hi my name is Drew…Community Empowerment…You can help…Bringing neighbors together…” As I go through the list I start to wonder how this project will unite communities. Can this focus on home energy reduction really make changes in this block, this town, this planet? Before I have time to finish my thoughts I hear footsteps drawing closer. With each step I hear, my heart starts to beat a little faster. I think “what if they just slam the door on me and don’t listen to what I have to say?” As the door slowly opens it seems to draw away all my thoughts and prepared lines, leaving me standing there without the security of my previous thoughts. As I manage to get out a few jumbled lines, the resident at the door starts to smile and before I know it I was sitting on the porch talking about running through the park at sunset and the resident’s daughter’s acting class. As I walk down the front steps and look around at the homes around me I realize that this project is not just about home energy reduction, but the potential of linking people to those around them and aiding communities construct their own foundation of hope and inspiration. For me this day of talking to people in the neighborhood helped me to feel a change within myself to engage with my own neighbors and learn their stories. I understand now that this aspiration for change I looked for at that first doorstep will not just come as a result of lowing energy use, but rather using energy reduction as a block to continue building a world full of incredible connections and communities.
Words from NICK:
Canvassing for Summer of Solutions was an incredible experience. Volunteering with NICE was the first time I had ever canvassed, and I was apprehensive about approaching people at their homes. The first house I went to I could hardly speak about the Community Carbon Challenge, but the person home not only pledged to reduce her energy use but also was extremely helpful to boot! She gave me pointers on the neighborhood, and wasn’t the only one to do so. Nearly every place I went to housed amazing people, many who knew a lot about sustainability and were already using their knowledge to improve their own homes and their neighbor’s homes. Jobs Neighborhood was a great place to canvass, and seemed like a great place to live. I highly recommend doing anything you can with Jobs Neighborhood and/or/in conjunction/dancing around/having a ball with the NICE, I know I’ll be back soon to do all of the above!
