Keep Virginia Beautiful says “Give 60.” Ready? Go!

It’s not every year that you get to celebrate something like 60 years, and we’re starting ours out in style! You may have heard about our Give 60 program, or Get Caught in a Beautiful Act. You may have even heard that we’re throwing a shindig in October to cut some cake and blow out some candles.

So what can you get us for our birthday? A few minutes of your time. Sixty of them, to be more specific. Sure, there are also opportunities to donate a few dollars. We have long been blessed with some great corporate and business partners to run individual events and programs, like our 30 in Thirty and putting recycling bins in all of our State Parks, but we often count on the generosity of folks like yourselves.

But here’s the easiest part: Getting Caught.gotcha!

Many of our partners and members take a very active role in helping to Keep Virginia Beautiful. People plant flowers and keep their sidewalks clean. Youth groups renovate playgrounds and city parks. Schools install rain gardens and start recycling programs. Groups like Earth Korps and Bull Run Mountains Conservancy muck around in our rivers and mountains. Businesses like Altria spend a day sprucing up a James River Park.

It’s really easy if you just devote the time to do it. And this year we ask you to do just that. But we like to share, and so are asking you to post a photo, photos, or a video of your group engaged in your project. Let us see you being Caught in your Beautiful Act. As we get closer to our Birthday Party (October 5th at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts) we’ll sort the submissions by category, like School or City/Town, and recognize those who had the most Beautiful Acts.

The neat thing is that with this sort of “contest,” everyone is a winner. You’ll feel better for having contributed, your friends and neighbors will appreciate and enjoy your hard work, and our Commonwealth will be cleaner and more beautiful for your efforts.

Our friends at Rocket Pop Media thought that it was a great idea, and took ownership of the block around their office in The Fan District of Richmond, Virginia. They have sort of an advantage because video and media is kind of what they do, but we really appreciated the hour that they spent on city streets to help Keep Virginia Beautiful.