by Nicole Catino
It’s hard to believe our first blitz of the year is just a few days away! (If you missed my first post about what a blitz is, check it out here to get up to speed.) The past couple weeks have been busy, busy, busy with all the preparations leading up to the big day. From putting the word out to our partners and advertising on social media, recruiting volunteers, confirming locations and logistics with our community partner, and getting lunch from Chipotle ordered, it seems like the to-do list is never ending.
Last week was exciting when some of the supplies we’ll be distributing arrived. Although it took some effort to get these boxes up to our office, this is only a tiny fraction of all the stuff we had in storage from last year. Our goal for this upcoming blitz is to reach 300 houses, which means filling 300 reusable grocery bags with the necessary materials. That means devoting an entire afternoon to the task.The “Stuffing of the Bags” occurred yesterday and while it’s probably been the most physically exhausting sign of the impending blitz, it’s also been the most satisfyingly tangible. We had a mini office party of sorts at PennFuture where a grand total of six of us created an assembly line to accomplish a seemingly insurmountable feat. With 300 bags now taking over a decent chunk of the floor and shelf space, we are restricted to walking around the office on a clearly defined path for the next couple days, like mice in a maze. To mix my metaphors, we are swimming in a sea of green… and it’s somewhat overwhelming.
All this hard work will pay off in a couple days, though, when these bags find their way into happy homes and into the hands of people who care about saving money and energy (and of course who just like free stuff!). While each recipient is just one household out of many, they will be an instrumental part of a bigger plan to curb our city’s carbon emissions. By utilizing the materials in the bag, each household will collectively help make our air cleaner, our communities healthier, and our city more prepared for climate change. How exciting!
