GREENING SYNAGOGUES RESOURCES

Youth Group CFL Bulb Sale

Tired of bake sales to support the youth group? Try a bulb sale! Our friends at the Church of the Brethren came up with a great program, easily adapted for synagogue use, where you purchase energy-efficient bulbs in bulk, and then sell them at synagogue on a busy Sunday. Members will be happy to pay your mark-up, which becomes youth group profit, while getting something that’s not only useful but deeply rooted in Jewish values.

This might be especially effective around Hanukkah time, by linking “Maccabean energy efficiency” (where one cruse of oil lasted eight miraculous days) with contemporary parallels such as compact fluorescent bulbs (which use only one-quarter of the energy of regular bulbs to produce just as much light). Play up what great gifts bulbs can make!

Remember the educational component of this program, for the youth and for the membership at large. Many people don’t know the secular basics about energy use and pollution, and most have probably never fully considered the Jewish view on this (see Why is Energy A Jewish Issue?), so be sure to raise consciousness along with raising funds.

Click here to see how it can be done!