Keep America Beautiful Rallies Grassroots Volunteers for Great American Cleanup ‘Earth Week’ Events Nationwide

STAMFORD, Conn., April 25, 2019 /3BL Media/ – The week surrounding the 2019 Earth Day (April 22) has been a focus of activity during the annual Keep America Beautiful® Great American Cleanup®, as the national community improvement nonprofit rallies volunteers at cleanup and green-up events across America. Thousands of events have unfolded from coast to coast prior to Earth Day and hundreds more are scheduled for the weekend of April 27-28, and throughout the remainder of the spring Great American Cleanup program period.

Prior to and on Earth Day, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego marked the 10th anniversary of Keep Phoenix Beautiful’s Earth Day Phoenix, joining KPB’s President Tom Waldeck for a ceremonial tree planting. Keep Austin Beautiful Day, a county-wide day of service, spanned more than 100 sites in the greater Austin area. More than 200 volunteers from local companies worked with Keep Massachusetts Beautiful on a Boston Earth Day cleanup. Keep Philadelphia Beautiful and Green Philly were joined by former Philadelphia Eagles’ star Connor Barwin and a host of volunteers to clean up Smith Playground in South Philadelphia. Nearly 2,000 volunteers joined Jersey City, New Jersey, Mayor Steven Fulop for the 4th annual Jersey City Cleanup on April 13.

“Many hands can make a sizable impact on a local level. Volunteering for the Great American Cleanup is a great way to become a community changemaker,” said Helen Lowman, president and CEO, Keep America Beautiful. “We all play a vital role in creating more socially connected places to live. If you haven’t yet participated in a Great American Cleanup event, Keep America Beautiful Month is a great time of year to help make your neighborhood cleaner, greener and more beautiful.”

Keep America Beautiful, with the support of its affiliates and their volunteers, social and civic service organizations, municipalities and government officials, and Great American Cleanup national sponsors will surpass many of the achievements of last year’s 20th anniversary Great American Cleanup, including 68 million pounds of recyclables collected; 24.7 million pounds of litter collected; 9.4 million volunteer hours logged; more than 55,400 miles of roads, shorelines and waterways improved and beautified; and nearly 21,300 public spaces cleaned.

Local hands-on volunteer events and education programs will renew public parks, trails and recreation areas; clean, enhance and protect shorelines, beaches and waterways; remove litter and debris from roadways, storm drains and public spaces; reduce waste and improve recycling; and plant trees, flowers and community gardens.

Here is a snapshot of Great American Cleanup events taking place this Earth Week and beyond:

• Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful: More than 40 events are slated for April 27-28 throughout Palm Beach County, Florida, for a variety of activities, including waterway and beach cleanups, native planting activities, park and garden cleanups, and much more. Locations and times here.
• Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful: Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful is hosting the 5th annual Great Gwinnett Wetlands on April 27. As part of an ongoing partnership with Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources, this program seeks to promote the ongoing stewardship of Gwinnett’s wetlands and water resources. Volunteer information here.
• Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful: Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful, in Reno, Nevada, will conduct its Great Community Cleanup on Saturday, April 27, focusing on the cleanup of illegal dump sites in the open spaces surrounding the Truckee Meadows.
• I Love A Clean San Diego: Join ILACSD on Saturday, April 27, as its volunteers beautify 100 sites in San Diego County during the 17th Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup. Last year, nearly 6,500 volunteers successfully removed more than 145,000 pounds of litter and debris. Registration here.
• Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful: The BIG Clean MKE community-wide cleanup day takes place throughout Milwaukee on April 27. Check the KGMB volunteer calendar for times and locations.
• Keep Cincinnati Beautiful: Join Keep Cincinnati Beautiful us for its spring Neighborhood Enhancement Program (NEP) cleanup on April 27! The NEP is a 90-day collaborative effort between the City of Cincinnati, neighborhood residents and community organizations. Volunteer details here.
• Keep Virginia Beautiful: Keep Virginia Beautiful, in partnership with askHRgreen.org, is mobilizing hundreds of volunteers to transform local parks, waterways, and neighborhoods across all 17 cities and counties in Hampton Roads on May 3-4.
• Keep Riverside Clean & Beautiful: The “Placemaking in Riverside” Community Cleanup takes place on Saturday, May 11, throughout the city with a volunteer recognition lunch to follow.

National sponsors of the 2019 Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup include the Altria Group, Dow, The Glad Products Company, Niagara Bottling, Inc., Northrop Grumman Corporation and Sazerac Company.

About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful strives to End Littering, Improve Recycling and Beautify America’s Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision.

Behavior change – steeped in education, research and behavioral science – is the cornerstone of Keep America Beautiful. We empower generations of community and environmental stewards with volunteer programs, hands-on experiences, educational curricula, practical advice and other resources. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 600 Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the collaborative support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.

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