After Being Hit Hard By The Pandemic, OhmConnect’s $100,000 Winner Is Now Debt Free

For Jenna C. from San Bernardino, CA, OhmConnect’s Grand Prize of $100,000 couldn’t have come at a better time. 

In a year that was challenging for families across the globe, Jenna and her family found themselves in an especially difficult situation when her husband lost his job and the car they’d just paid off was rendered unusable after a car accident. 

Jenna, a store manager at a FedEx office, has been working major overtime hours in order to stay afloat financially. 

“We’ve been hit hard with this pandemic,” she said in a phone interview this week. “This month especially - I have been so busy with work as the holidays approach. I go to work early in the morning and get back in the evening, help the kids with homework, do dinner, go to sleep and start all over. It’s a day that never ends! We’ve racked up debt and have been putting groceries on our credit card. I wasn’t sure how we’d pay it off.” 

Getting paid to save energy

Jenna lives with her husband and two young children in a three bedroom house in San Bernardino. She joined OhmConnect -- a service that pays its customers to save energy -- as a way to reduce their whopping monthly utility bill and earn some extra income. Her energy savviness paid off in a MAJOR way this week when she was selected as the winner of our Power In Numbers Grand Prize, $100,000 in cash. 

“Honestly I still can’t really believe it,” she said. “I’m in shock.” 

Jenna joined OhmConnect in 2018, in attempts to bring down her electric bill which regularly came in at $300-$500 per month. 

“We didn’t really think about our energy use before we joined OhmConnect. Now that we’ve been doing #OhmHours for a few years I’m much more conscious of where we use power. Now when I notice a light on in a room we’re not in, I’m quick to turn it off. My daughter used to be the queen of leaving lights on and now she turns them off!” 

Jenna also took advantage of a promotion from OhmConnect and got a steep discount on a smart plug, which she currently has attached to the lights on her Christmas tree. 

“My son says ‘Uh oh!’ when the lights go out and thinks that the tree is broken but I tell him ‘No, we’re just saving energy!’” 

That little smart plug earned their family qualifications into the biweekly prizes and ultimately, got them in the drawing for the Grand Prize. 

Making energy efficiency a family affair

In addition to the money they’ve earned, Jenna says one of her favorite things about OhmConnect is the way it's encouraged her family to spend time together. 

“Before we were participating in the #OhmHours, it was normal for me to head to the kitchen and my husband to head to the garage and my kids to scatter when we all got home but when we need to unplug, we always make a point to spend time together whether it’s out for a walk or just in one room playing a board game or something. And now we do it even when we don’t have an OhmHour - we’re just closer together as a family.” 

Congratulations Jenna on your HUGE win, and thanks for being part of the OhmConnect community!