THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2020 D 5IF YOU ARErelying on your air-
conditioner around the clock this
summer and fretting about your
bills, fear not. There are several
money-saving steps you can take
to stay cool — whether you have a
window unit or a central system.MAINTAIN YOUR UNIT
Schedule a yearly checkup with a
professional to make sure your
cooling system runs efficiently
and lasts longer. The most effec-
tive tuneup, which doesn’t require
a specialist, is cleaning your unit’s
filter, or, if it’s disposable, replac-
ing it. That can lower an air-condi-
tioner’s energy consumption by 5
to 15 percent, according to the
Department of Energy.
A one-inch filter should be
inspected every month, and larger
filters inspected every three to six
months, said Jennifer Amann, the
buildings program director at the
nonprofit American Council for an
Energy-Efficient Economy.
“If people have deferred some
of these maintenance issues,” Ms.
Amann said, “they may want to
get in that habit while we’re home
more.”BE STRATEGIC
If you have a window unit, use it
only to cool the room where it’s
installed, and close the door to
keep the heat out. To avoid run-
ning units in multiple rooms at
once, share spaces with your
loved ones whenever possible.
If you have central cooling, set
your thermostat as high as com-
fortably possible. Ms. Amann
suggests having it at 78 degrees if
you’re home during the day. To
save more energy, raise it to about
83 degrees for four to eight hours
at a time, ideally when you’re out
of the house or sleeping.
You may also want to invest in a
smart thermostat that automati-
cally adjusts to energy-saving
temperatures based on your
preferences. Many electric utili-
ties offer rebates and discounts to
customers if they buy a smart
thermostat and allow the utility to
adjust its temperature during
peak hours, said Dharik Mallapra-
gada, a research scientist at the
M.I.T. Energy Initiative, a re-
search and outreach arm of Mass-
achusetts Institute of Technology.Some customers can override the
suggested temperature if they feel
it’s too high and still reap the
benefits.
“In some ways, it’s a program
that has a carrot but has no stick,”
Mr. Mallapragada said.REDUCE HEAT
Draw blinds or curtains to block
out sunlight. If you have outside
awnings, open them up to get
some shade.
You can cut back on activities
that increase your home’s heat
and humidity, like baking or tak-
ing hot showers. If you can, try
cooking outdoors whenever possi-
ble, and turn on the range hood
while using the stove. Run your
dryer or dishwasher overnight,
when it’s cooler outside; switch
out incandescent light bulbs with
energy-efficient LED bulbs and
turn off electronics when you’re
not using them. Also, don’t place
lamps or televisions near the
thermostat. They may cause the
central air to run longer than
needed.
“Over time, all these things add
up,” Ms. Amann said.Another vital step: Insulate
your home to prevent hot air from
creeping in. If you have a window
unit, you may have already
checked for gaps around the
frame. But it’s also important to
seal other air leaks in and outside
your home.CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES
If you primarily use an air-condi-
tioner to reduce humidity, Ms.
Amann advises purchasing a
dehumidifier certified by Energy
Star, an efficiency certification
program run by the Environmen-
tal Protection Agency.
Or you could supplement your
air-conditioner with a ceiling fan,
allowing you to raise your thermo-
stat temperature by four degrees
without experiencing any discom-
fort, according to the Energy
Department. Other types of fans
can also help you cool down, but
don’t use them in empty rooms.
“Fans don’t cool spaces,” Ms.
Amann said. “They only cool
people — and pets.”Save Energy
(And Money)
Four ways to air-condition your home
more efficiently in the summer heat.
BY SARA ARIDI
JORDAN AWANIF YOU HAVEalready figured out
how your family’s work and school
situation might look this fall,
remember other families might
not be as secure. All parents want
to stay or get healthy, give their
children the best shot at an enrich-
ing school year and support them-
selves and their partners as they
balance work and child-rearing —
but this is an unprecedented,
uncertain year. Millions of people
are facing job loss, food insecurity,
health problems and other worries
in this ever-changing period.
With the school year here or
rapidly approaching, you can offer
a helping hand, either through
donations or volunteering. Involv-
ing the young ones in your life
may teach them valuable lessons
about giving back, while also
giving them feel-good tasks dur-
ing an inherently destabilizing
time.
“What motivates parents to do
all the things that raise money is,
basically, helping your own kid,”
said Pamela Koch, the executive
director of the Laurie M. Tisch
Center for Food, Education &
Policy at Teachers College at
Columbia University. “This might
be a time that thinking about
that in a deeper way could
really happen.”
Here are some strategies to
help your neighbors, your schools
and your community.Donate, if you can.
As the virus spread and unem-
ployment numbers increased,
many people made donations.
These gestures helped many
organizations get over the imme-
diate hurdles.
But the crisis continues. If you
can afford it, a recurring monthly
commitment — set up with an
automatic withdrawal from your
bank account or credit card —
gets your family to commit for the
long run. Charity Navigator has a
list of vetted nonprofits working in
communities affected by the
outbreak.
Involve your children by asking
their opinions on where they think
you should focus resources. They
can also help raise money by
hosting a socially distant bake
sale or starting an online fund-
raising campaign.
Many food banks and emer-
gency rent-relief organizations areworking with reduced budgets,
despite increased need. To help
with emergency relief, check out
national organizations like Feed-
ing America or the Salvation
Army, which most likely have
chapters in your area. Or if you
were passionate about an issue
before the pandemic struck,
chances are organizations that
deal with it still need help.
Where and how you shop also
matters. From clothing brands to
grocery stores, some retailers
donate a portion of their proceeds
to those in need. Others match
your purchase by donating a
similar item or allow organiza-
tions to register to receive finan-
cial gifts, and you and your kids
can choose for your purchases’
proceeds to go to a favorite char-
ity, school or another nonprofit.
Credit cards points can also be
donated, along with frequent-flier
miles and other loyalty points you
have stashed away.Consider joining
a mutual-aid group.
At its most basic level, mutual aid
is when neighbors step in to di-rectly fill gaps left by government
services and big institutions.
Many groups are working to build
a local directory to organize op-
portunities as big as neighbor-
hood fund-raisers or as small as
grocery deliveries to an elderly
couple down the street. To find a
local group, search online — a lot
have sprung up on social media or
block association email lists.
There are also nationwide lists
online.
“It’s providing kinship,” said
Tyesha Maddox, an assistant
professor in the department of
African and African-American
studies at Fordham University.
“It’s more than just charity or
generosity. It’s building a cohesive
neighborhood.”
Mutual aid has been around for
a long time. Dr. Maddox studies
the practice in Caribbean commu-
nities in New York City at the turn
of the century. An episode from
“The Dig,” a podcast from Jacobin,
tells the story of a Russian dissi-
dent who coined the term in 1902
after he saw animals helping each
other in Siberia.
With a mutual-aid group, you
will be taking cues from the people
you’re helping. That might includedonating school supplies, or help-
ing a family make rent. Support-
ing parents is often the best way
to support their children.Give clothing or supplies.
For school supplies, donate to
First Book, a national nonprofit
that provides free or inexpensive
books and learning materials to
children in need.
Or establish an ongoing connec-
tion with another family. One New
York organization, the New Neigh-
bors Partnership, pairs refugee
families with families who have
slightly older kids, so a relation-
ship built on clothing donations
can be maintained over several
years.
Shoshana Akabas, its founder,
said that since the pandemic, she
had been adding a new client
every other day.
“It’s proven to be a real lifeline
for these families, having that
local community connection,” said
Ms. Akabas, 28. “That’s the goal,
ultimately. It’s to not only make
sure they have clothes for their
kids, but to give them a sense that
somebody in this huge city still
cares about them.”
Your children might be pleased
to know others will appreciate
their outgrown clothes. You can
work together to wash, sort, fold
and pack, and write letters to the
other family. They might even
make a new friend.Volunteer virtually.
In March, as lockdowns started,
nonprofit organizations saw steep
drop-offs of volunteer sign-ups.
Some organizations temporarily
suspended volunteer programs
altogether.
A few months in, organizations
have developed safe strategies for
people to take action digitally.
“The need has almost never
been greater in our lifetime for
volunteers and funding for our
nonprofits,” said Laura Plato, the
chief solutions officer for Volun-
teerMatch, an online platform that
connects people to service pro-
grams. Right now, there are over
one million calls on the site for
virtual volunteers, from staffing a
crisis prevention line to hosting a
digital clothing or food drive.
This time of year also brings
desperate need for disaster relief
efforts. You could team up with
your teenagers to digitally map
out vulnerable communities with
the American Red Cross.
Or consider organizing a drive
on your social media (or your kid’s
account, safely) to collect school
supplies for organizations like
Operation Backpack.
Finally, volunteer as a virtual
tutor. Teenagers can help their
peers through programs like
Teens Give or School on Wheels.Support others with meals.
Food banks are strapped, but
demand has never been greater.
“While some food banks are in
need of food donations, others
may be looking for volunteers, and
all could use financial gifts to
support meal and grocery pro-
grams,” said Kathryn Strickland,
chief network officer at Feeding
America, a national network of
200 food banks and more than6,000 food pantries. About 80
percent of the Feeding America
food banks are still accepting
volunteers. You and your kids can
assemble or distribute boxes.
For families with outdoor space,
you can also grow a garden to-
gether and share the bounty with
a local food bank. Or if you own a
car, you can drive for your local
Meals on Wheels affiliate and
deliver meals to homebound
seniors.
Another option, for New York-
ers specifically, is connected to the
city’s promise to provide each
family with a child in the public
school system with up to $420 per
student, most in the form of a
“Pandemic-Electronic Benefit
Transfer” card.
Many might want to give the
card to a neighbor, and while
that’s a noble desire, it’s not a legal
one. Your family is the only one
who can use it.
“It’s very similar to a stimulus
check,” said Marissa Finn, an
educator and the founder of Share
My PEBT, a campaign to educate
people about how to donate.
Since failing to use the card will
waste those funds, Ms. Finn rec-
ommends using the card to shop
for groceries and donating $420
to an organization that fights
hunger. She has links to several on
her website.
Some areas are setting up com-
munity refrigerators stocked with
produce and other food items.
People are welcome to take what-
ever they want from the fridges
and leave behind food they don’t
need. It’s a grass-roots effort
to combat food insecurity and
reduce waste.Provide a kid
with internet access.
Millions of students will be attend-
ing class from their living rooms,
watching video lectures and so-
cializing at a distance. But remote
education can be difficult.
Some 15 percent of U.S. house-
holds with school-age children do
not have a high-speed internet
connection, according to a Pew
Research Center analysis. Often,
several children share one com-
puter, which can be tough with
overlapping class times.
Before the pandemic, a student
without internet at home could do
research at a library or stay after
school to use the computers.
“That’s not an option anymore,”
said Angela Siefer, the executive
director of the National Digital
Inclusion Alliance, a nonprofit
organization that advocates
for internet access. “There’s
no workaround.”
N.D.I.A. maintains a list of local
organizations working on digital
inclusion, for those looking to
donate. Another organization,
EveryoneOn, can help families
find low-cost programs in their
ZIP code.
You could also donate a comput-
er to a student. Basic models start
at around $100. Give through
mutual aid or through an organi-
zation. One idea might be Comp-U-
Dopt, which refurbishes used
computers and gives them to
children in cities across the coun-
try. It costs $215 for the organiza-
tion to get the computer, overhaul
it, deliver it and provide two years
of tech support and training, said
Megan Steckly, the chief executive.Many students and their families are struggling this school year. Here are some
ideas to help your neighbors, your schools and your community.
BY AMELIA NIERENBERG AND ALEXANDRA E. PETRI
Volunteer or Donate
To Help Others
JORDAN AWAN