Thomas Jefferson Solar Panel Initiative
TJ Solar Panel Initiative, 6560 Braddock Rd, Alexandria, VA, 22312
Share and Bookmark this Blog
Subscribe to my RSS feed
J-Day
Well, J-Day, our school’s annual day of activities, food, and fun was held yesterday, May 30th. The TJSPI’s parent organization, the Environmental Impact Club, had a table and activity like we did last year. Like last year, our activity this year was EXTRAORDINARILY successful. But unlike last year, we actually made a substantial amount of money this year.
.
This year, our activity was to make fondue (also called fruit kabobs), where we melted chocolate chips in a CooKit solar cooker and covered strawberries, marshmallows, bananas, and an assortment of delicious foods with the chocolate. We also had a solar panel powering the entire set-up, from the laptop to the speakers. Additionally, we had a letter-writing drive, which allowed students to write a handwritten, personalized letter to Sen. Webb urging him to support climate action legislation. And of course, we gave out free keychains promoting the use of reusable bags.
.
.
Overall, it was a huge success. We made lots of money (always a plus), had many letters written (which will, hopefully, bring about change at the national level), and promoted the use of renewable energy among the school community to an extent never seen before. I can safely say that the TJSPI is now an integrated part of the culture at TJ, and has the active support of many.
.
I would just like to mention a touching (for me, maybe not for others), action I saw occur a few times. We sold our product for $1. Every now and then, someone came up and gave us a $10, then urged us to keep the change, because “the solar panels are more important than my change.” Someone actually gave a $20 bill and said she didn’t even want to buy the fondue. In the large scheme of things, these acts of goodwill are minor. But for myself and the others who were volunteering at the booth at the time, it was enough to render us speechless. To those who care so much, thank you.
Tagged: Fundraising, j-day, solar panel, tj
4 responses so far ↓
1
Samantha Sharp
// May 31, 2008 at 11:35 pm
The aforementioned laptop was Mr. Kaufman’s organic one. It was incredibly cool; it’s the most environmentally-friendly laptop to date and it has amazing battery life. It only uses something like 2 watts of power, whereas a normal laptop uses around 18? Don’t quote me on that. But it was truly amazing, and it kind of made me wish I didn’t have a laptop yet so I could get an organic one. It was actually overcharging according to the battery monitor, meaning it had more than enough juice from the solar panel.
Fundraising was awesome. I wandered around a lot, and I saw that at most booths people would sort of check what was being sold and move on if they didn’t want any, but ours was one of the displays that got people’s attention for its uniqueness.
Technology is one of those things that I don’t think most people think of as being green beyond a green power source. I hope the organic laptop got people thinking (especially since so many TJ kids have laptops).
2
Seth
// Jun 1, 2008 at 6:34 am
Yes, it was “a huge success.” Wide-eyed teenager after wide-eyed teenager came up to check out the stack of letters people had written to Sen. Jim Webb, the solar panel powering the blasting music, and the weird shiny solar cooker, then finally turning to the delicious kabobs. I love how you captured the excitement of both the members and patrons of TJSPI!
3
jasteena
// Jun 1, 2008 at 11:42 am
Jday went down really well! It was so much fun and we sold so many of those fruit kabobs. I think the fact that we incorporated an aspect of the EIC, the initiative to go green with solar power by melting the chocolate with a solar cooker, was what really interested people to stop by our table. In total, I believe we raised somewhere around $112 in profit and we also got around 48 letters for Sen. Webb!
Great job guys!!
4
Sarah
// Jun 1, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Wow! I never imagined selling “solar fondue with fruit kabob” for J-Day would be such a success. What a great idea on Jackson’s part!
To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about the chocolate-melting power of a piece of shiny cardboard, but over $100 added to the EIC treasury and as many teenagers with newly happy stomachs proved me very wrong.
Leave a Comment