My first attempt at philanthropy

Last Saturday, my neighbor Marvin and I knocked on doors in our neighborhood to ask people if they had attic insulation.

I'd noticed that the snow melts off most people's rooftops while it lingers on mine. Why? I had insulation installed in my attic. The heat isn't leaking out and melting the snow on my roof.

My Mom and Dad gave me some money for Christmas. I decided to try to use it to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions and save my neighbors some money. I negotiated a group discount from a local insulating company and I'm offering to make the 1/3 down payment on attic insulation for anyone who signs up. I put that information and explained how important attic insulation is on a flyer. My friend Marvin (who lives across the street) and I made the pitch to our neighbors. (Marvin's a carpenter and handyman -- he's offering to cut the openings in closet ceilings so the insulation can be blow in and then neatly close them up for $80.)

So I'm offering to pay the first $233 towards the $700 cost of attic insulation. I noticed my heating bills dropped about 1/3 when I had insulation put into my attic 17 years ago. That translates into about $120 a month in savings now.

Marvin was a good salesman--- and he's African American as many of my neighors are. He wanted people to know that I'm not trying to make money off them, that I really am just trying to do a good deed.

So far, no calls or e-mails. I'm a little surprised.