Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Mosaic wins $5,000 in energy efficiency upgrades from BPU

Board of Public Utilities

KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- The MOKAN Take Charge Challenge engaged Hays, Hutchinson, Kansas City Kan., and Warrensburg Mo. in an exciting competition designed to impact energy efficiency with participants through education, engagement and results.

Locally, Mosaic won first place with a score of 4,800 points.

For over 100 years, Mosaic has been providing a life of possibilities for people with intellectual disabilities. Mosaic is focused on individualized supports; community inclusion; employment opportunities; and safe and affordable living environments.

City Vision Inc. came in second place with 4,045 points followed by Owens Corning with 3,820.

The challenge ran from August 1, 2013 through January 31, 2014. The MOKAN Take Charge Challenge was a commercial challenge. As a participating city, Kansas City had business and non-profit participants complete more than 400 tasks for the Challenge that saved energy, water, and money.

The Leadership team and participants in Kansas City, Kan., held over 100 events throughout the challenge, which were used to share educational information with nearly 3,000 people.

The Kansas City Leadership Team gained key supporters by partnering with the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) Utility Services Department including Patrice Townsend, Brenda Lander, and David Allen.

A list of participants include: Owens Corning, KCK Chamber of Commerce, Duchesne Clinic, Mosaic, Reddi Services, City Vision Inc., Kansas City BPU, Unified Government - City Hall, and Sam’s Club at the Legend’s.

A celebration event to recognize participants was held on February 26th.

The competition builds on the success of the Kansas Take Charge Challenge, which was created by the Climate + Energy Project in 2009. The Kansas Take Charge Challenge was a residential challenge.

Nationwide recognition for the innovative and successful challenge included the New York Times, Lawrence Berkley Labs, and PBS.

The MOKAN Take Charge Challenge used the spirit of competition to drive participation and success. Each participating organization had the opportunity to win a local prize of $5,000 from their local electric utility.

At the same time, the organizations within each community competed against those in the other community for a grand prize of $10,000. The grand prize, provided by Climate + Energy Project, will be used for a community energy efficiency project in Hays, Kansas.