Announcement
Utah Clean Energy continues to provide helpful information about energy conservation, now providing virtual access to refugee families through workshops facilitated by the IRC in Salt Lake City.
Photo: Sam Moody/IRC
In June, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Salt Lake City collaborated with Utah Clean Energy (UCE) to provide a comprehensive presentation on energy conservation for the local refugee community.
For the past twenty years, the local nonprofit, Utah Clean Energy, has dedicated their work to driving policy towards sustainable means of energy. UCE’s vision is focused on “creating a future that ensures healthy, thriving communities for all, empowered and sustained by clean energy.” For over a year, UCE worked with the IRC in Salt Lake City through the Empower SLC program to distribute LED light bulbs to refugee homes. After talking to members of IRC’s economic empowerment team, they agreed to collaborate on an informational presentation with a focus on energy conservation to improve family budgeting.
While reviewing budgets, Brady Adams, asset building specialist at the IRC in Salt Lake City, noticed how families in small apartments were spending $100 or more on electricity a month. For refugee families who occupy little space and live on tight budgets, every penny counts. Then, UCE came forward with their idea for a presentation on energy conservation. Brady thought, This is how we’re going to address this issue.
“It’s amazing what they did for us,” reflected Maria Gigourtaki, acting economic empowerment program manager at the IRC in Salt Lake City. Utah Clean Energy compiled basic ideas of energy conservation into a concise presentation with graphics and helpful videos that increased understanding for those still working on their understanding of English. They explained different types of energy and how to stay safe while making simple energy-saving adjustments in their homes. According to Maria, “they had good information right from the get go.”
Utah Clean Energy created an easy to follow presentation which provided information on energy and money-saving practices.
Photo: Shelby Stults/Utah Clean Energy
“[Brady and Maria] were helpful in what content could look like and how to engage,” UCE’s community program coordinator, Shelby Stults, remarked. The presenters, Shelby and her colleague, Haylee Neel, an AmeriCorps service member supporting Utah Clean Energy, carefully explained new concepts. They also provided the participants with realistic ways of saving energy. Ninety percent of families served by the IRC in Salt Lake City rent their apartments, limiting the changes they can make to their home spaces. With that in mind, UCE adjusted the workshop to provide simple solutions that any family could complete, such as replacing lightbulbs with LED lights while holding onto the ones the house came with to switch back to when they moved out.
Once they introduced how energy use impacted the climate, the online participants sat up a little straighter, realizing the impact on their community small changes could make.
“They didn’t realize that they had an impact on the environment,” Maria explained. They immediately empathized with the cause. “They’re happy they can make a difference to their pockets and the environment.”
In a recent presentation, Utah Clean Energy outlined simple practices refugees renting homes could do to reduce their carbon footprint and save money.
Photo: Shelby Stults/Utah Clean Energy
After, Shelby and Haylee left time for participants to ask questions. Many wanted to watch the video again or review new terms. Maria noticed that of the six attendees, five were women. To her, it’s important to see women in educational spaces such as these where they can learn about making improvements to their household budgets and empowering their voices at home.
“[UCE] know[s] the population that we work with,” Brady said. UCE cares about the environment, but their work encompasses more than that, and their dedication to people intersects with their purpose.
Thanks to the support of other local nonprofits like Utah Clean Energy, important causes can come together and multiply our impact on the community. Learn how you can make an impact on the lives of refugees in our community by visiting Rescue.org/SupportSLC.