Executive Summary The Bright Lights Brighter Futures (BLBF) program by Sonepar furnishes nonprofits with free LED lighting upgrades—helping them improve facilities, reduce energy consumption, and lower their electricity bills. For its recipient, Irby selected The Exchange Club Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse. The Center received 50 retrofitted lighting fixtures and 40 upgraded electrical outlets through the support of national and local sponsors. |
About the Carl Perkins Center
Located in Tipton County, the Carl Perkins Center supports families and children in West Tennessee affected by child abuse. The Center first opened in 1981 and has since supported thousands of individuals through preventative and interventive services.
The Center's building has a long history, too, serving as the first hospital in Tipton County many years ago. It later became the outpatient clinic of the late Dr. Elliston, and upon his retirement, he gifted the building to The Exchange Club Carl Perkins Center. Decades later, the facility's original lighting system was well overdue for an upgrade.
The Project The work began with a lighting audit and staff consultation at the Carl Perkins Center. Coordinating the retrofit was Carl Faulkner, Irby's Project Manager, whose connection to the facility runs deep. His wife was born in this very building when it served as the county's first hospital, and Carl himself graduated from high school just down the road. Following the audit, local contractor Wolfe Brothers Electric, LLC donated its services to complete the installation. While there, the crew noted that the facility's electrical outlets also needed an upgrade. Wolf Brothers volunteered to replace those, too, in addition to the services they'd already contributed. "I don't think Wolfe Brothers can ever get enough credit for the difference they made—not only for the Carl Perkins Center, but for the whole county," said Carl. |
|
Impact
Through the support of all project sponsors, The Exchange Club Carl Perkins Center received 50 energy-efficient lighting fixture replacements and 40 electrical outlet upgrades. Cayla Starnes, County Director at the Carl Perkins Center, says the support goes a long way in furthering the Center’s mission. "With you all being able to come in and provide this free to us, it allows us to accomplish the goal of A) keeping our building up to date and cozy and warm for our families to come into…and B) freeing up those finances for us to serve our families directly,” she said. “For you all to notice the work that we do…thank you for that."
About BLBF
Irby's parent company, Sonepar, launched Bright Lights Brighter Futures in 2023 and has so far gifted free lighting retrofits to 16 nonprofits across the US. Powered entirely by our sponsors, the program gives back to the organizations that provide so much to our communities.
|
Irby's next BLBF project is already underway, this time serving Safe Harbor of Tipton County, a nonprofit organization that empowers men and women overcoming substance use to reintegrate into their communities. Carl and team have already begun the lighting audit, and Wolfe Brothers Electric has once again volunteered their labor for the installation.
"To do something like this makes me feel proud. Being able to improve my community through my job makes it more than a job."
– Carl Faulkner, Project Manager, Irby