We are almost at our goal of $5,000 for our Spring Donation Campaign
If you're having trouble viewing this email, you can see it online.
Funded by the PA Department of Environmental Protection
Match Campaign in Progress
We are almost at our goal of $5,000 for our Spring Donation Campaign. We have until May 15 to secure a $5,000 match from Ranger Ready. Thank you to those who have shown your support! Your generosity means everything to us and the communities we serve. If you haven’t given yet, GIVE now and your donation will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous donation from Ranger Ready Repellents.
Congratulations to our Inaugural Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania Class of 2023
Join us in congratulating the inaugural class of 35 Young Ambassadors who committed to eight months of service, while representing and upholding the mission and values of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. Commencement speakers included Michael Carroll, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Phoebe Coles, Board Chair of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.
The program offered students opportunities for training and networking with industry leaders, participation in Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful's Litter Summit and the Keep America Beautiful National Conference, experience with local media and more. Students performed a community inventory and coordinated a litter cleanup and an educational program based on the inventory results, learning presentation and leadership skills, problem-solving and the value of partnerships.
The program was recommended in the commonwealth’s Litter Action Plan announced by the Governor’s Office in November 2021 and is funded by PA Department of Transportation. Students were chosen through a competitive application process. We will be accepting applications for the 2023-2024 school year beginning August 1. Visit our website for information.
Litter Hawk Youth Award Winning Projects Displayed at the State Capitol Building
Fourteen winning entries are currently displayed in the fountain area near the East Wing Rotunda of the Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg through May 25.
Over 900 Pennsylvania youth participated in the 2023 Litter Hawk Youth Award Program. In response to Pennsylvania’s new anti-littering education campaign, PA Fights Dirty: Every Litter Bit Matters, the students showed us how Every Litter Bit Matters to Them with art, essays or videos. Two entries were awarded in each grade level. First place winners received a $50 gift card. First runners-up received a $25 gift card. Congratulations and a big thank you to all who participated. See all the award winning entries here.
The Litter Hawk Youth Award program is offered annually and was created with funding provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Look for a program announcement this fall.
Free Webinar - How Your Community Can Fight Dirty: A Review of PA Fights Dirty Media Assets, Tools and Resources
Register to join representatives from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and the PA Department of Community and Economic Development for a free webinar to learn how Pennsylvania’s nationally recognized antilittering campaign, PA Fights Dirty: Every Litter Bit Matters, can be used in your community to change behaviors and keep your community clean.
The free webinar is open to the public and tailored to Pennsylvania municipalities, counties and community improvement groups, including cleanup coordinators.
Pick Up Pennsylvania - Register and Report Your Events
There’s still time to participate in Pick Up Pennsylvania and receive free cleanup supplies! Although the statewide community improvement initiative is active 365 days a year, spring cleanups registered and held before May 31 are eligible for free bags, gloves and vests, as supplies last. Register here.
Once your event is complete, please report your results. Reporting results is just as important as the cleanup. Your cleanup numbers are added to statewide totals, help us measure progress towards reducing litter and are important deliverables to our funders. We also want to hear about your experience, so please upload pictures and videos at the time of reporting, so we can share your hard work!
Pick Up Pennsylvania is funded by PA Department of Environmental Protection.
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Community Pride Award Honors the BlockRite Program
Representative Ismail Smith-Wade-El, Pennsylvania State Senator representing the 49th district, nominated the BlockRite program of the Artivist Corp., a nonprofit located in the City of Lancaster that combines activism with art, for the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Community Pride Award.
Led by Sir Dominique Jordan, the BlockRite program was recognized for providing afterschool programs for students that include cleaning up neighborhoods around the city and mentoring youth by fostering artistic expression and emotional literacy leading to interest in civic engagement.
“I am so proud to have residents like Dominque Jordan who see the potential that Lancaster and its youth have and actively work to make the city an even better place,” said Smith-Wade-El.
The Community Pride Award recognizes outstanding environmental stewardship. Elected officials can nominate a constituent for a Community Pride Award on a rolling basis. Visit our website for award specifics and to see other recipients.
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and PennDOT Partner on Cigarette Litter Prevention at Rest Stops
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful received a $20,000 grant from Keep America Beautiful to continue its partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to implement the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP) at rest stops across the state. The program aims to raise awareness to travelers about the issue of proper cigarette butt disposal with messaging and placing ash receptacles at entrances to rest stop buildings.
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful has a partnership with TerraCycle to expand the program to include recycling and composting the cigarette butt waste. Cigarettes collected through CLPP are shipped to TerraCycle where the various materials that make them up are separated and processed.
A recent cleanup of Cobbs Creek Recreation Center, park and surrounding neighborhood was held through a partnership between Comcast, Keep America Beautiful, Philadelphia Streets Department and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. A group of 75 community members, including Philadelphia Streets Commissioner, Carlton Williams, volunteered part of their day on April 15 to pick up 300 bags of trash. Most of the litter was scattered, but a few small concentrated dumps and a former homeless encampment were also cleaned up.
The GIANT Company’s Reduced Emissions Program with PDI Solutions
Philadelphia’s Tacony Creek Park - On March 30, the Philadelphia 76ers executive staff, Tookany/Tacony-Frankford (TTF) Watershed Partnership and team members of The GIANT Company cleaned up household trash, carpet, building material, foam, buckets, cardboard, hundreds of plastic drink bottles and more that marred Tacony Creek Park.
Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority - On April 20, Keep Centre County Beautiful coordinated local volunteers and team members from The GIANT Company to beautify Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority gardens. They planted native species to promote a healthy ecosystem and assisted with weeding and mulching of the large garden and juniper areas planted last year. The team also assembled and installed bird box houses.
York City - On April 22, the City of York celebrated Earth Day with forty team members from The GIANT Company who joined local residents for a city-wide litter sweep.
Give now and your donation will be matched dollar for dollar through a generous donation from Ranger Ready Repellents!
.jpg)
