Coastal Composite Squadron Awarded $1,000 Green Grant
Thirty grants are being awarded throughout Virginia in June as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 15th Annual Green Grants Program. Coastal Composite Squadron, in Virginia Beach, is awarded a $1,000 Green Grant in the Cigarette Litter Prevention and Recycling category as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 15th Annual Green Grants program.
Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address an environmental concern in their community. Grants must focus on one of the following priorities: Litter Prevention, Recycling & Waste Reduction, Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling, or Community Beautification.
Established in 1941, Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a public service organization chartered by Congress that functions both as a nonprofit and the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Youth aged 12-18 may join the cadet program, which focuses on leadership, aerospace education, physical fitness, and character development. Sandra Shinabarger, a senior member of the Civil Air Patrol, and her family, including a son who is a member of the CAP cadet program, are diligent about litter removal. They are sharing this passion with her son’s Civil Air Patrol Squadron because this aligns with the community service aspect of the Civil Air Patrol.
Currently there are no outdoor brochure stands to hold pocket ashtrays at the smoking sections of several concert venues such as the Veteran’s United Home Loans Amphitheater, the Hampton Coliseum, and others. This leads to cigarette butts being littered on the ground. Shinabarger plans to install outdoor brochure stands to hold pocket ashtrays to make them available for use by smokers at the event. Funds from the Green Grant will also be used to purchase pocket ashtrays for this distribution.
Because cigarette butt litter is the number one most-littered item in Virginia (and the world!) we are grateful for the volunteer work of the Coastal Composite Squadron to provide cigarette butt pouches to individuals who choose to smoke so that there is a sustainable way to capture and recycle cigarette butts.