Dear Friends,
C-Change set big goals for 2024 – our 10th anniversary year – and I am so thrilled to report our hardworking volunteers and staff met that challenge in a big way. We reached new (to us) types of audiences in new locations and with new forms of outreach, sharing our climate action message with 2,250 individuals through 33 presentations in 16 regions.
And that’s not all – we reached well beyond those physical thresholds with a public awareness campaign on social media and streaming TV that brought climate change messaging to more than 70,000 households in conservative media markets.
We’re thinking big and we’re going big. Our strategies are evolving, our message is gaining volume, and more people are listening. From business schools to “Climate Weeks” in New York City and Florida, from online webinars to live forums, from national conventions to intimate dinners, from podcasts to articles, we are connecting with people of different backgrounds, interests, and climate concerns. We know our message works – and there’s never been a more important time to keep talking.
That’s why we are so grateful to have the support of people like you, people who want to learn more about climate change and encourage others to understand how it affects us all. Thank you for helping us share this climate conversation and for supporting our efforts to keep reaching new audiences.
Wishing you a happy, healthy start to 2025,
Kathleen Biggins
Founder and President
Spreading the Word on TV and Social Media
In a new venture for C-Change, we have been running a very successful public awareness campaign, both on our social media accounts and on streaming TV on conservative media like Fox News in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Ohio. In our first media buy, we reached 70,000 households and had more than 150,000 “impressions” (individual viewers) – and less than 2% of people switched channels or turned off their screens. These public service messages are quick and interesting facts about climate change and energy, perfect to share with others. If you haven’t seen them yet, please click here.
“Watching The Weather” Webinar
In September, Kathleen Biggins interviewed nationally acclaimed meteorologists Jeff Berardelli and Chris Gloninger about their expert, scientific takes on how climate change is affecting both our everyday and long-term weather. In this live Zoom webinar, they talked about what we might face in the not-so-distant future and how we could be better prepared to handle the challenges. You can watch it here.
Primer Presentations
Kudos to Dallas Hetherington for continuing to wow our audiences! In September, he traveled to Georgia, where our C-Change Athens affiliate organized two terrific speaking opportunities. Dallas presented the Health Primer at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Georgia. He also presented the General Risk Primer (our in-depth overview of climate change causes, risks, and solutions) to a skeptical and conservative audience at Lake Oconee in Greensboro.
Back in New Jersey, Dallas presented the General Risk Primer at the Raritan Headwaters Association and at the Allentown Garden Club. As always, he handled skeptics with great confidence and answered tough questions calmly and rationally. Dallas, you continue to wow us all and we’re so fortunate to have you!
This fall, Kathleen Biggins was in a whirlwind of travel to new locations! From Georgia to Tennessee, Washington, D.C., to New York City, Kathleen delivered presentations tailored to a wide range of audiences.
In September, Kathleen co-presented with Glenmede, a national wealth management firm and ongoing C-Change partner, for a New York City Climate Week event. With Director of Sustainable & Impact Investing Mark Hays and Climate Change Investment Specialist Melanie Fornes, Kathleen delved into climate change challenges and investor strategies at the University Club in Manhattan.
October began with a Zoom presentation on bridging the partisan divide for Florida Climate Week. Kathleen’s presentation (and all of the other online presentations from the event) can be watched at https://floridaclimateweek.org.
Ray Bassett of WUTC (NPR’s Chattanooga station) interviews Kathleen Biggins.
Next, Kathleen headed to Chattanooga, TN. Thanks to amazing local organization and support, Kathleen presented at five events in three days, tailoring her presentations to different audiences, including several classes and a public event at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and a private event at Lookout Mountain. Kathleen was featured on NPR’s WUTC “Scenic Roots” podcast and was interviewed by the ABC television news channel.
We received the following feedback from the co-director of environmental studies at the university: “C-Change Conversations made a topic that college students have ‘big feelings’ about feel approachable, understandable, and, perhaps most importantly, solvable. Without skating over the very real climate-related challenges facing Gen Z, Kathleen and her team provided fact-based examples of promising developments in addressing the climate crisis from around the world that made a daunting subject more manageable. Students came away with a clearer sense of how to frame the conversation around climate change more productively and with a renewed sense of hope.”
November brought another great college campus visit, this time to a sustainable investing class at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Kathleen delved into how climate change will impact our economy – including our investments – and took a look at the importance of private capital in our clean-energy transition. The 34 students who attended were engaged and genuinely interested in the issue.
Finally, back home in New Jersey, Kathleen presented the General Risk Primer to 55 people at Stonebridge at Montgomery retirement community, an event coordinated by a woman who had seen our presentation seven years ago. (C-Change was the very first presentation she wanted to book when she moved to Stonebridge!) The audience was welcoming and asked terrific questions, including what our new administration might mean for climate action going forward.
C-Change Conversations, Athens, Georgia
Several C-Change Athens members are participating in a six-part training program to engage in the 2025 Georgia Power Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), the utility’s 20-year energy resource plan. This has been a great way to learn how to advocate for clean and renewable energy with Georgia’s largest utility company, as well as the Public Service Commission.
The Athens affiliate submitted a letter of commitment to collaborate with the Southern Sustainability Institute on a three-year outreach and education initiative that will support Athens-Clarke County’s 100% Clean and Renewable Energy goals. This letter was included in a $20 million IRA Community Change Grant application prepared by Athens-Clarke County’s Sustainability Department. C-Change Athens also gathered several letters of support from community organizations to include with the grant application.
Member Sally Coenen made a presentation to the Athens Area Community Foundation to set up a clean energy fund.
Thank you, Kathy Herring!
Kathy Herring (right) and Kathleen Biggins on a West Coast C-Change trip in 2017.
In November, we gathered to celebrate Kathy Herring, our dear friend and long-time board member as she steps down from that position. It was Kathy who suggested we “take our show on the road” all those years ago – 33 states later, we could never have done this without her. Her leadership for our annual benefits has been instrumental in helping us to both raise the funds we need and to reach more audiences with our message. We are extremely grateful that Kathy plans to continue to help with our benefits and to support our cause.
Reducing Our Own Footprints: Tips and Advice
Have you thought about making some changes at home to be more climate friendly? Karen Dougherty’s newest “B-Change” blog discusses electric heating and cooling options as well as some appliances and tools you could consider for your household. Her overview offers friendly suggestions that you can share with friends and family who might also want to reduce their carbon footprints.
Upcoming Presentations
January 15: Princeton, NJ, Windrows Independent Living
January 17: Zoom, Zone Conservation Leaders of NJ Garden Clubs
February 18-20: Memphis, TN
- Hutchison School
- Memphis Botanic Garden (public event)
- Little Garden Club of Memphis
March 18: Boyce, VA, Blandy Experimental Farm, State Arboretum of VA (public event)
March 19: Winchester, VA
- Rotary of Winchester
- Winchester Clarke Garden Club
- Shenandoah University (public event)
March 20: Charlottesville, VA, Charlottesville Garden Club
April 8: Asheville, NC, French Broad River Garden Club (public event)
April 10: Charlotte, NC
- Women in Business
- St. Peter’s Church
April 17: New York City, NY, New York Junior League (public event)
