NCCC Team Assists Bloomington’s Task Force in Conserving Residents Energy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 5, 2015

For more information, please contact:

Tieshia Brown, 954.558.0717, nccmediao6@gmail.com

Marilyn Ponce, 319.529.0579, mponce@cns.gov

Jacqui Bauer, Sustainability Coordinator, City of Bloomington Economic and Sustainable Development Department, 812.349.3837, bauerj@bloomington.in.gov

NCCC Team Assists Bloomington's Task Force in Conserving Residents Energy

Bloomington, Ind. - An AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) team is serving with City of Bloomington Department of Economic and Sustainable Development from September 22 through November 6. The team is focusing on energy efficiency as part of a much broader sustainability program and the Monroe County Energy Challenge.

The NCCC team of ten from the North Central Region campus of Vinton, Iowa, is sharing information on steps to improve home efficiency and collecting pledges to take action. In addition, members are assisting in basic weatherization of homes or apartments as needed. The team is also collecting data of average monthly utility bill data for a website that allows renters to compare the utility expenses associated with different properties. Finally, members are canvasing neighborhoods and compiling data entry, and participating in community outreach events such as the farmers market.

Through their service, NCCC members are helping the community reduce residential energy consumption by ten percent or more through the course of the 2015-2016 Energy Challenge competition, which particularly focuses on reaching lower-income households that suffer the most from high energy bills. The energy efficiency effort works in tandem with improving quality of life and economic development.

"Being that this is our first energy conservation project, it's exciting and rewarding to learn more about saving energy and passing on what I learned to the citizens about its importance," says team member Cameron Maurer from Essex, Vermont.

The mission of the City of Bloomington's Department of Economic & Sustainable Development is to enhance the quality of life for residents by administering strategic programs and initiatives that foster an environment where businesses thrive, resulting in the retention and creation of new, quality jobs. The City also strives to lead it peers in creating a thriving, sustainable community, evidenced by a skilled, educated, healthy, and financially stable population.

The AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) and its FEMA Corps units engage 2,800 young Americans in a full-time, 10-month commitment to service each year. AmeriCorps NCCC members address critical needs related to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, and urban and rural development; FEMA Corps members are solely dedicated to disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery work. The programs are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). CNCS is the federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads President's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.

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