Keep America Beautiful’s Graffiti Prevention Grant Awards Presented to Seven Local Organizations

STAMFORD, Conn., Oct. 21, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Keep America Beautiful (KAB) today announced the winners of the 2013 Graffiti Hurts® Grant Program. This year, KAB provided four $2,500 cash grants as well as two $2,500 paint supply certificates from The Sherwin-Williams Company. Q-Star also provided a FlashCAM, valued at $6,995, to one deserving recipient. The FlashCAM is a deterrent system effective in preventing illegal trespassing during hours it most often occurs.

$2,500 cash grant recipients:

• Population >250,000: Keep Riverside Clean & Beautiful, Riverside, Calif.
• Population 75,000 – 250,000: City of Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, La.
• Population < 75,000: Coastal Carolina University, Conway, S.C. and Keep Hammond Beautiful, Hammond, La.

$2,500 Sherwin –Williams paint supply certificate recipients:

• Population > 75,000: Keep Las Vegas Beautiful, Las Vegas, Nev.
• Population 75,000 – 250,000: Keep Alachua County Beautiful, Gainesville, Fla.

Q-Star FlashCAM recipient:

• Eight Mile Boulevard Association, Detroit, Mich.

“The recipients of this year’s Graffiti Hurts Grant Program awards reinforce how volunteer engagement can help mitigate damage that can be caused by graffiti vandalism,” said Becky Lyons, COO of Keep America Beautiful. “We’re very grateful to The Sherwin-Williams Company for its ongoing support of the Graffiti Hurts program, which provides communities with valuable tools and resources to abate graffiti.”

Responding to the blight of graffiti vandalism, the Graffiti Hurts® program was developed in 1996 through a partnership between Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s largest nonprofit that builds and sustains vibrant communities, and The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW), maker of Krylon paint. The Graffiti Hurts® Grant Program was initiated in 2007. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, graffiti contributes to lost revenue associated with reduced ridership on transit systems, reduced retail sales, and declines in the value of surrounding residential and commercial property.

“The Graffiti Hurts Grant Program augments the power of local partnerships, volunteerism and community engagement in beautifying communities while eradicating blight,” said Ian L. Gresham, vice president of marketing, Diversified Brands Division, The Sherwin-Williams Company. “Sherwin-Williams is proud to be a supporter of Graffiti Hurts and commends the vision of this year’s award-winning local initiatives.”

For more information about the Graffiti Hurts® program, visit graffitihurts.org.

About Keep America Beautiful, Inc. and Graffiti Hurts®
Keep America Beautiful is the nation’s leading nonprofit that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. With a network of more than 1,200 affiliate and participating organizations including state recycling organizations, we work with millions of volunteers to take action in their communities. Keep America Beautiful offers solutions that create clean, beautiful public places, reduce waste and increase recycling, generate positive impact on local economies and inspire generations of environmental stewards. Through our programs and public-private partnerships, we engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community’s environment. For more information, visit kab.org and follow @kabtweet on Twitter. For more information about Graffiti Hurts® and its resources to help communities prevent graffiti, visit graffitihurts.org or contact graffitihurts@kab.org.