HEAT HELP
CAP CITY
The holidays are upon us, and that means two things: the season of giving and the season of freezing. But Springfield City Water, Light and Power brings both of those ideas together, giving the fortunate a chance to give back and the less fortunate a way to keep the heat on this winter. CWLP’s Project RELIEF program, now in its 27th year, provides assistance with utility bills for qualifying customers from December through May each year while funds are available. Funded entirely by donations that come mostly from CWLP customers who donate a dollar on their monthly bill, Project RELIEF raised more than $21,000 last year and helped 109 families. To qualify for assistance, customers must have made less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level in the past 90 days, have exhausted all similar assistance programs, and have a delinquent CWLP bill with the ability to pay at least part. To apply, call CWLP at 789-2414 on or after Dec. 1. To donate, mark the appropriate box on your monthly bill or send a check made out to Project RELIEF to Contact Ministries, 1100 E. Adams St., or download a donation form at cwlp.com/customer_service/your_account/contribute_project_relief.htm.
BETTER BAGS
CAP CITY
The Better Bag Project is getting bigger. Headed up by Sustainable Springfield, Inc., and the Green Business Network, the Better Bag Project is a drive to get Springfield residents to use fewer plastic bags.
Started early this summer, the Better Bag project this fall joined forces with members of the area’s educational institutions to bring more attention to the cause.
Springfield School District 186, the University of Illinois Springfield and Lincoln Land Community College students are working to develop logos and find ways to involve retailers in the project. To kick off that endeavor, UIS students will hold a bake sale on Dec. 4 at the Sixth Street Wal-Mart to raise funds for future promotions. Students will also provide information about the environmental damage plastic bags can cause.
Joan Barenfanger, coordinator of the Better Bag Project, says involving students is key to changing social norms. “People pay more attention to students in a way because it’s theirs, the earth is, in a way,” she says.
Changing the community’s habits is the first step of the project, but eventually Barenfanger says the project might push the city to consider rebates or a plastic bag tax to help increase the use of durable bags and to increase the recycling rate of disposable plastic bags.
