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Cleanup Kit

Giveaway Time

Cleanup Kit Giveaway

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Giveaway TimeWe’re excited to announce that it’s our fall Cleanup Kit Giveaway time!

The change of seasons is welcome to many, with cooler temperatures, and less humidity.  But unfortunately, one thing that doesn’t change is the need to clean up litter left in the landscape.

According to Keep America Beautiful’s recent Litter Study, nearly 50 billion pieces of litter along United States roadways and waterways. Overall, there was more litter near waterways (25.9 billion pieces on 10.7 million miles) than on roadways (23.7 billion pieces on 8.3 million miles) though, proportionally, roadway and waterway litter represent similar quantities of the total litter items discarded nationwide (47.8 percent and 52.2 percent, respectively).

Keep America Beautiful encourages all individuals to pick up 152 pieces of litter. Why 152? Using information from the litter study, they determined that if everyone made the individual action of picking up 152 pieces of litter (all at once) there would be no litter on the ground until someone littered again. #152andYou

We sincerely appreciate those who continue to make the effort to pick up litter from roadsides, parks, and waterways.  And we want to help by getting you to tools you need to safely pick up litter.

Each Cleanup Kits includes:

    • 2 sturdy litter grabbers,
    • 2 safety vests,
    • 2 pairs of work glove,
    • other goodies as available!

Enter here: Cleanup Kit Giveaway Entry Form from now until September 30th!

We’ll draw 10 names from all the entries and give away 10 Cleanup Kits the first week in October — just in time for “Virginia is for Lovers Not Litter” month!

Subscribe to our eNews so you can stay up to date with this Giveaway and others!

Litter Cleanup Kit

$1,000 Grant Awarded to Naturally, Newport News

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Litter Cleanup KitCongratulations to today’s award of our 2021 Green Grants — Naturally, Newport News, who will receive a grant award of $1000 for its Litter Prevention project.

Naturally, Newport News is the Keep America Beautiful affiliate for the City of Newport News. They work to strengthen litter awareness and prevention initiatives. Naturally, Newport News recently began a “City Department Challenge,” which encourages city departments to start their own litter cleanup events, using cleanup kits provided by Naturally, Newport News.

Green Grants funds will be used to purchase cleanup kit supplies, including safety vests, litter grabbers, and gloves, to be loaned out for the City Department Challenge.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic and service organizations in Virginia were invited to apply for grants for $500 to $1,000 describing how they plan to tackle an environmental concern in their community regarding Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification.  Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has provided $254,500 for 320 different environmental programs and projects all across the Commonwealth, due to the generosity of their partnership with Altria, as well as additional support from Coca-Cola, WestRock and Keep America Beautiful.

 

Altria Logo

Coca-Cola Logo        WestRock Logo         

 

Litter Cleanup

Cleanup Kit Giveaway

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Litter CleanupSpring means many things, the arrival of Spring flowers (and pollen!), Earth Day, and this year especially a chance to get outside for some fresh air.  However, we’ve been getting several reports that the litter on our roadsides, in the landscape, and our water ways is worse than ever.  Notably is the addition of lost or discarded face masks in parking lots and road sides.  What can we do?

Sometimes it’s best to take matters into your own hands!  The Great American Cleanup is ongoing until June, and there’s no better time to get out where you live, work, or play in the Commonwealth, and give a hand to the cleanup effort.  And we want to help you do that SAFELY.

We want to get you and a friend or family member geared up!  We’re happy to announce that we’ll be giving away ten Cleanup Kits in May!  Each kit will include two sturdy litter grabbers, two Class 3 safety vests, two pair of reusable work gloves, as well as trash bags, recycling bags, and other goodies while supplies last.

All you have to do is enter your contact information, and tell us what you would accomplish if you won a cleanup kit.  The entry form will be available this week under the Programs tab on the home page of our website.  Our goal is to be a resource for people to further our Mission to improve the natural and scenic environment of Virginia.  Giving you tools for a safe cleanup is just one thing we can do.

Something YOU can do is show us the good deeds you’ve been up to on our Get Caught in a Beautiful Act page.  We love for you to share your pictures, and if you’ve done a cleanup, tell us how many bags of litter you’ve picked up – don’t be shy!

You can also check our Events page for cleanups and other happenings.  We believe it will continue to fill up with more possibilities as the COVID restrictions are eased for outdoor activities.  Stay tuned!

Clean Up with Mask

Are You Shivering Yet?

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Clean Up with MaskWith much of the state affected by rain, we had a wet kick off for our Shiver in Virginia Challenge on Saturday!  Thanks to all who have registered for the challenge, and especially those who were able to get outside to pick up litter, or do other beautiful acts!  While we certainly missed gathering with everyone for our annual Shiver in the River festival, as we have in the past, the good news is that this year the challenge continues throughout the month of March.  You’ve still got plenty of time to register for Shiver in Virginia – join in any time, and do as much or as little as you want.

Our Shiver in Virginia Challenge is a fun way to get outside to safely pick up litter wherever you live, work, or play — even if you’re shivering just a little!  Our Mission Challenge interactive map page has a path of 2,021 miles around the Commonwealth, and for each bag of litter picked up and reported on the Challenge page, we’ll advance one mile along the path.  Everyone who registers will receive a FREE one-day parking pass to any Virginia State Park.

You can do more than just pick up litter too.  Check out the other ways that you can help us log miles on the map by doing beautiful things:

Join the challenge to help us accomplish our mission.  And send pictures!

Shiver in Virginia Challenge Logo

Are You Ready To Shiver?

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Shiver Challenge MapUsually this last week of February we’re on the final stretch to our biggest fundraising event of the year, Shiver in the River.  Here’s a cool drone video from Creative Dog Media that you can check out from the past, and remember what we have to look forward to in 2022!

We always host a huge community cleanup at Historic Tredegar with about 500 volunteers on the morning of Shiver in the River.  It’s amazing, and we usually end up with over a ton of litter and recycling that’s been removed from the landscape of Richmond!

This year will be different, with COVID restrictions, but there’s a silver lining!  Now you can make a difference in YOUR community, wherever you live, work, or play in Virginia!

We’re hosting Shiver in Virginia, where together we will strive to clean up a 2,021 mile path around the state of Virginia.  You can record the number of bags of litter you clean up (one bag equals one mile on the path) on your phone or on a desktop website to track our collective progress. You can also do beautiful things like graffiti removal, recycling, plant native plants — one beautiful act equals one mile on our path too! You’ll be able to post pictures, share on social media, and see who’s on the leaderboard.

NEWS FLASH!!  Everyone who registers will receive a FREE one-day parking pass for any Virginia State Park!  And you’ll be entered to win cool prizes along the way too, like a guided kayak adventure for two, a ropes course experience for two, or admission to gardens and other beautiful places across Virginia!  Take a look at the sponsors and prizes listed at the bottom of our Shiver in Virginia webpage.

Shiver in Virginia will kick off on February 27th, the original date for Shiver in the River, and it will run through March 31, 2021.  You can register at any time, and do as much or as little as you like throughout the month of March!  You can even get geared up with an individual Cleanup Kit that includes a trash grabber, safety vest, washable gloves, and trash and recycling bags, so that you can stay safe while you clean up.

And if this is not the kind of event that you’re interested in participating in this year, you can still support us with a donation of $20.21, or any amount!  You’ll still get the free one-day parking pass for any Virginia State Park to keep or to share.

If you’re ready to jump in (figuratively speaking this year), you can register for Shiver in Virginia now!

Cleanup Kit Gift

Last Minute Green Gift Idea

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Cleanup Kit GiftSo you’re down to the wire if you’re shopping for a Christmas present this week.  With shipping delays, product shortages (especially if you’re gifting toilet paper or Clorox wipes), or simply a lack of inspiring ideas, gift-giving can be a challenge this year.  But we can help!

Here’s a gift idea that’s sure to please the green guy or gal in your life, and you can make it happen in time for Christmas giving.  It’s a gift that is good for the environment, it will make you feel good, and it will make everyone who cares about a clean landscape grateful!  Oh, and it will make us happy too!

It’s a Deluxe Individual Cleanup Kit!  It includes a sturdy ArcMate trash grabber, a Class 3 safety vest, trash bags, recycling bags, and a pair of washable/reusable cotton work gloves!  For a minimum donation of $100, we will ship to you or to a name and address that you provide.  It’s a gift that will be used all year round, because there’s a lot of work to be done.

And since Santa’s Elves at FedEx won’t be able to complete the actual shipment this week, we will send an email gift announcement to you or the gift recipient so they will know that you cared enough about them and the environment to give them a Deluxe Cleanup Kit.

It’s a win-win done!

You can also make a donation to our organization as a tribute to someone, or in memory of a loved one who’s gone.  What better way to honor someone you care about, while helping us with our mission to improve our natural and scenic environment?

We’re grateful for the people who continued to work hard this year, cleaning up on their own, wearing masks, keeping socially distant, and caring enough to remove litter from our landscape.  Especially this year with the addition of all the disposable PPE, the litter problem isn’t going away by itself.

Be part of the solution, support Keep Virginia Beautiful today!

Globe with gifts

Deluxe Cleanup Kits Available

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Earth and Presents

It’s time to think about the gift-giving season!  And here’s a suggestion for a gift idea that you can get for yourself or the Earth-loving-environmentalist on your list!

For every donation to Keep Virginia Beautiful of $100 or more, you will receive (or you can send as a gift) a Deluxe Cleanup Kit, while supplies last!  Similar group kits were very popular during our recent Cleanup Kit Giveaway, with people asking how they could get their hands on one if their name wasn’t drawn to win a kit.  So we thought we’d offer an individual kit as a way to help us help you!

The Deluxe Cleanup Kit includes: one sturdy ArcMate trash grabber, a Class 3 safety vest, trash bags, recycling bags, and a pair of cotton work gloves.  That’s everything you need to make your litter cleanups safer and easier!

Is the Earth on your gift list?  There are many things we can do to be thoughtful of our planet during this holiday season.  Here are just a few:

  • Give the gift of your time instead of more stuff — someone who lives alone might enjoy sharing a meal you bring to them, or a bowl of popcorn and a rented movie to watch with you.  Maybe a Mom with a couple of kids might enjoy a coupon for babysitting!
  • Try not to buy into the latest trends.  A product with a short-lifespan, or cheap gadgets and toys will end up at the landfill.
  • Local artists offer very unique and personal gifts.  Places like Torpedo Factory Art Center in Northern Virginia, ‘Round the Mountain in Southwest Virginia, Shenandoah Valley Arts Center, the Artists Gallery in Virginia Beach, and Crossroads Art Center in Richmond are just a few places where you can find a wide array of beautiful gifts in all price ranges.

So give it some thought.  A gift that’s good for the Earth can come straight from your heart.  And that’s the best kind of gift there is!

 

 

Hands with Hearts

What Does Giving Get?

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Giving is one activity that hasn’t been canceled this year!

You may be aware that #GivingTuesday is this week, December 1st.  But you don’t have to wait for a special Tuesday to make a donation.  As a nonprofit that cares about Virginia’s natural and scenic environment, we are challenged to remove litter from our landscape (especially PPE), improve recycling, and beautify communities.  We continue to safely conduct cleanups during this challenging time, and are doing everything we can to carry out our mission.

But we need your help.  Please support us with a donation today!  And if you do, we want to give you something special!

For every donation to Keep Virginia Beautiful of $100 or more, you will receive (or you can send as a gift) a Deluxe Cleanup Kit, while supplies last!  Similar group kits were very popular during our recent Cleanup Kit Giveaway, with people asking how they could get their hands on one if their name wasn’t drawn to win a kit.  So we thought we’d offer an individual kit as a way to help you help us!

The Deluxe Cleanup Kit includes: one sturdy Arcmate trash grabber, a Class III safety vest, trash bags, recycling bags, and a pair of cotton work gloves.  That’s everything you need to make your litter cleanups safer and easier!

With all the restrictions that 2020 has placed on us, going outdoors for fresh air and exercise is still possible with our mild Virginia climate.  If you take a bag with you to pick up any litter and recyclables you come across, you’ll be doing something good for yourself and your community.

On another giving note, have you heard that the IRS is giving taxpayers a break?  The CARES Act changes deducting charitable contributions made in 2020.  Taxpayers who do not itemize deductions may take a charitable deduction of up to $300 for cash contributions made in 2020 to qualifying organizations.  Details available from the IRS.

Cleanup Kit

Cleanup Kit Winners Announced

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Thank you to everyone who is participating in our Cleanup Kit Giveaway!  It’s good to know that many people care about litter in our landscapes and on our roads.  The comments have been encouraging too, when asked to tell why they would like a kit:

“We have a date scheduled with our employees of to clean up our road that our factory is on.”

“To help my scouts pick up trash safer.”

“The cleanup kit will help my sorority sisters and I to reach and pickup trash along our stretch of adopted highway.”

What is your why?  Tell us why you would like to have a Cleanup Kit, and enter your name for the September drawing!

Congratulations to our August Cleanup Kit Winners:

Jennifer A. of Wytheville
Jennifer P. of Richmond
Lauren C. of Surry
Jim C. of Mechanicsville
John S. of Cross Junction
Katelyn P. of Montclair
Kathi H. of Round Hill
Roxanne W. of Montross
Harbans S. of Herndon
Jim H. of Keswick

We appreciate your work to improve our natural and scenic environment!

Trash grabbers, trash & recycling bags, gloves, hand scale

Cleanup Kits are Ready!

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We want to say THANK YOU! to the volunteers who came out to help us sort out supplies and assemble Cleanup Kits!  They are ready to be shipped to ten names that will be drawn at the end of July.  We are also grateful for the support of Altria and HandsOn, who make this program possible.  These are people and organizations that truly care about the scenic and natural environment of our Commonwealth, and their help is going to bring about change.

That’s the one thing that’s going to affect the Litter Tide — when individual behavior changes.  One way to do that is ongoing litter cleanups.  Littered environments attract more litter.  Another way is to have attractive and well-maintained landscaping to set a community standard.  Neighborhoods that make an effort to “beautify” promote a sense of personal responsibility not to litter.

That’s why we are giving away Cleanup Kits, to give you the ability to get out there and safely pick up litter from the roadways and landscape.  You can have an impact on people’s behavior.

We pose a question on our Cleanup Kit entry form that asks what people hope to accomplish with a Cleanup Kit, and the responses have been so encouraging!!  Here are some good ones:

“People are disposing of their masks and gloves in parking lots. I would love to clean this mess up.”

“I cannot stand to see the irresponsibility of some, to ruin the beauty of our earth.”

“Every grabber is a catalyst to build a community of stewards who will work to leave our city cleaner and safer than ever, protecting the local environment.”  Whoa, well said!

And here’s a great one:

“As an earth-loving, litter-despising eco citizen, I would be honored to use your cleanup kits to help keep our environment beautiful.”

What would YOU hope to accomplish with a Cleanup Kit?  Fill out a form and let us know!

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