CEC is honored to receive this $13,000 grant from the National Grid Foundation

Queens, NY – Community Environmental Center (CEC) has received a grant from the National Grid Foundation to help support CEC's EcoHouse, a free, mobile, environmental education center, announced Richard Cherry, CEC's founder and president.

"CEC is honored to receive this $13,000 grant from the National Grid Foundation," said Cherry. "Educating young people about saving energy and protecting the environment is an EcoHouse mission, and it is gratifying that the National Grid Foundation recognizes that need and the value of the EcoHouse as a 21st-century educational tool."

Designed and built by Community Environmental Center in 2012, the EcoHouse resembles a red-brick house on wheels on the outside. Inside, the EcoHouse offers displays about almost everything that makes a home work: a heating system, insulation, appliances. An interactive shower that you can walk into demonstrates how much water a traditional showerhead uses, and how much a low-flow showerhead saves. A lighting display lets you compare how much electricity is used when you turn on a CFL as opposed to an incandescent bulb.

"By utilizing readily available energy saving technologies and employing simple conservation measures, CEC's EcoHouse offers a real-world blue print for how each of us can help solve climate change right in our own homes," said Bob Keller, President, National Grid Foundation.

Founded in 1994, the not-for-profit CEC provides energy efficiency solutions to multifamily buildings and to homes throughout New York City. But while energy efficient buildings are vital to the well-being of New York City, CEC believes that sustainability really depends on people.

"We can insulate buildings," says Cherry, "but unless people understand why it's vital to have cellulose insulation behind the walls, or why ENERGY STAR refrigerators are good for the environment – then we haven't really done our job."

"The young people who come to the EcoHouse today will have to deal with climate change tomorrow. So it's essential that they learn first-hand how to save energy in their homes and how saving energy will protect the natural world around us. The grant from National Grid Foundation will help carry through that vital learning process."

The Community Environmental Center EcoHouse is currently at the Queens Botanical Garden, which is hosting the EcoHouse through August 30. Please visit www.cecenter.org/ecohouse for details.

About the National Grid Foundation: The National Grid Foundation was created to enhance the quality of life in areas where National Grid provides services. The Foundation's ongoing challenge is to create opportunities for solutions to educational and environmental issues. Its objective is based on the principle that giving people the tools to build hope is an essential ingredient in the development of individuals, families and communities. Since its inception in December 1998, the Foundation has provided more than $16 million in grants to hundreds of organizations.

Description: National Grid FoundationAbout Community Environmental Center: CEC, a Queens-based noy-for-profit that recently won the EPA's prestigious 2013 Environmental Quality Award, brings energy efficiency to residential buildings and homes in the tri-state area. Founded by Richard Cherry in 1994, the company is the largest provider of weatherization under New York State's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). CEC is also the parent company of BuildItGreen!NYC and Solar One. For more information, please visit www.CECenter.org