April is Keep America Beautiful Month, and Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful is proud to be a Keep America Beautiful® affiliate. But what does it mean to be an affiliate of the largest community improvement organization in the United States? We’ll tell you…
But FIRST, A Little History…
In 1953, Keep America Beautiful (KAB) was established by the National Advisory Council in New York City to address the growing issue of littering and foster a sense of community pride. Its earliest advocates through what would become an enduring relationship with the Ad Council included the first lady of the United States, Lady Bird Johnson, and TV star Lassie. Slogans designed to establish the brand and directive to “Keep America Beautiful” spanned the gamut from “Every Litter Bit Hurts” to “Don’t be a Litterbug” to the more recent “#DoBeautifulThings.” In the years since its launch, KAB has become THE trusted source for scientifically rigorous, fact-based, non-partisan reporting on litter in America. It has also expanded its scope to include promoting recycling, beautifying America’s public spaces, and restoring & supporting resilient communities. Over the last seven decades, KAB has grown from one centralized nonprofit organization to a thriving network of nearly 700 community-based Keep America Beautiful affiliates. Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful has been honored to be one of those affiliates since 1980.
What Do KAB Affiliates Do?
Keep America Beautiful® envisions a country in which every community is a clean, green, and beautiful place to live. To expand its reach into those local communities, KAB has tapped hundreds of local eco-focused nonprofits that share its mission to inspire and educate people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. That network of affiliates has had a hand in the following:
- Cleaning, beautifying, or improving 59,874 miles of roadway throughout the U.S.
- Cleaning 7,461 miles of rivers, lakes, wetlands, and shorelines
- Freeing 146,647 acres from litter
- Collecting 69,689,184 pounds of litter, debris, and recyclables
- Planting 31,899 trees
- Engaging local citizens to devote 2,900,000 volunteer hours to their communities
- Educating hundreds of thousands of students and citizens
- Planning and organizing thousands of cleanup, recycling, beautification, and restoration events
- Partnering with hundreds of local companies and organizations helping to clean, green, and beautify communities everywhere
Each year, KAB affiliates also participate in a Community Appearance Index survey – fanning out over their designated areas to take note of things like litter, illegal dumping, illegal road signs, graffiti, and more around roadways, parks, schools, and commercial properties. Here in Gwinnett, we perform our yearly CAI over three days, exploring every corner of the county.
The Many Ways GC&B Celebrates that Keep America Beautiful Spirit Every Day
In addition to being a Keep America Beautiful affiliate, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful is honored to be a Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation affiliate. The Georgia network is 70 organizations strong – spanning from the marshes of Glynn County on the Georgia Coast to the summit and ridges of the North Georgia mountains in Rabun County. Here in Gwinnett, the GC&B mission is focused on Connecting People and Resources for a Sustainable Gwinnett. To that end, we proudly offer the following services to our community…
- Impactful annual events like Bring One for the Chipper “Treecycling” Initiative, Earth Day Recycling Event, Great Gwinnett Wetlands Cleanup Event, Governor’s Environmental Address, America Recycles Day, Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day, and more.
- Community-focused programs like Adopt-A-Road, Adopt-A-Stream, Great American Cleanup, Green & Healthy Schools, Green Youth Advisory Council, and Stormwater Protectors – to name a few.
We also endeavor to educate the public regarding ways to end litter, reduce waste, beautify communities, and improve recycling through our website, appearances at local events, email marketing, local advertising, and social media. In addition, we are exceedingly proud of our work within 80 Gwinnett County Public Schools to foster an up-and-coming generation of environmental stewards through initiatives like Plant It Forward, Compost Connectors, and Food Waste Warriors. To learn more about Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and our efforts throughout Gwinnett County, please visit us at www.GwinnettCB.org! You can also stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Celebrate Keep America Beautiful Month with us by registering as a volunteer for a future event or making a donation to our nonprofit organization!
FUN FACT: Keep America Month ALSO Marks a Special Date for Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful! April 11, 2023 is Our 43rd ANNIVERSARY!
