Brotherhood Crusade is among 20 Los Angeles based organizations that is being supported by The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to promote energy efficiency and water conservation through outreach and awareness program and activities in the South Los Angeles communities.
“The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is pleased to present a community grant to Brotherhood Crusade. This grant is an investment in education and awareness that will help LADWP encourage more of our customers to conserve electricity and water,” said LADWP Sustainability Officer Nancy Sutley.
In an effort to foster creative activities and programs in the South Los Angeles area, Brotherhood Crusade created its LADWP Youth Ambassador Program to inform their peers and residents of City Council Districts 8 & 9 about the importance of water conservation and energy efficiencies and how conserving will reduce their LADWP bill.
The Brotherhood Crusade LADWP Youth Ambassador program was not only for the community but it also helped the ambassadors develop personal and professional skills throughout the program. The most challenging aspect that some of the ambassadors had to face was public speaking and being comfortable talking to people they didn’t know. As an ambassador, they had to learn how to be comfortable interacting with strangers and had to build the confidence to speak to their peers and residents about water conservation and energy efficiency.
“Throughout the year, the LADWP Youth Ambassadors made a significant impact on themselves, their peers, and community residents. This shows when they talk about the habits they’ve changed within their own households and those households of the community. It also shows when community members realize how much water and energy they use when talking to an ambassador and when residents are overjoyed when they see youth advocating for the community” stated Brotherhood Crusade Project Coordinator, Destiny George.
However, the ambassadors found the most rewarding part about their role was identifying the importance of conservation and efficiency to individuals in their community. The rewarding aspect came from informing residents about reducing their energy and water usage in order to help them save on their bills and to be more knowledgeable about the environmental impact that goes with over-usage of water and energy. The LADWP Youth Ambassadors provided outreach to their peers along with elementary and middle school youth which was rewarding to provide tips and tricks on water conservation and energy efficiency to their peers and youth.
Water conservation is such an important topic because water is an essential element and it is a limited resource. Many people don’t realize how much water they are using and wasting on a daily basis which is why the LADWP Youth Ambassadors inform residents about the importance of water conservation.
Davon Hunt, a rising high school senior at Washington Prep High School and LADWP Youth Ambassador said, “Prior to starting the program, I would always see “Save the Water” commercials and never thought twice about conserving water or all the water I wasted. I didn’t even realize that leaving the faucet dripping or having a leaky faucet can waste wasting gallons of water. So, now I pay attention to the amount of water I use and decrease my water usage.”
Energy efficiency is also important because it reduces the amount that an individual pays on their electric bill. Residents can make small changes to reduce the amount of energy they use such as turning lights off and other appliances when they aren’t using them, unplugging devices, using LED light bulbs instead of CFLs and incandescent bulbs due to them using less wattage and lasting longer, and washing clothes in big loads while setting the water temperature on the washing machine to cool instead of hot.
Charisse Bremond Weaver, Brotherhood Crusade president and CEO said, “We are so grateful to LADWP for their on-going support. Awarding us a community grant enables the organization to continue the journey we started to instill water and energy conservation awareness in our students and nurture them to go into our community to advocate this important environmental platform. The confidence this program has built up in our students is palpable. They are wiser and better equipped to make the choices to ensure a greener planet and we could not be more proud of them.”
The Brotherhood Crusade LADWP Youth Ambassadors hope to create change in their community around water conservation and energy efficiency to reduce resident’s bills and to be informed about public health issues around environmental health and climate change. For additional information regarding the Brotherhood Crusade LADWP Youth Ambassadors Program, contact 323.846.1649.
