Keep Iowa Beautiful
April 2020 Newsletter
April is Keep Iowa Beautiful Month!
It's April and that means it's  #KeepIowaBeautiful  Month! And what better way to celebrate than launch our brand new website.
Pick Up Iowa Postponed
Our mission is to inspire and educate people to action in order to improve and beautify their communities. Accordingly, it is important to keep ourselves and our friends, neighbors, and family safe and healthy. Keep America Beautiful (KAB) has decided to postpone The Great American Cleanup. Likewise, Keep Iowa Beautiful has decided to postpone our Pick Up Iowa event in support of KAB’s The Great American Cleanup.

We will be announcing new dates for Pick-up Iowa projects when possible in 2020 . Sign-up to ensure your community is eligible for a limited supply of free cleanup supplies once the new 2020 dates are announced!
What is Pick Up Iowa? Pick Up Iowa is part of Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup the nation’s largest community improvement program. Communities participate by cleaning up litter and trash along Iowa’s roadsides, neighborhoods, streets, school grounds, parks, forests, and streams. It is estimated 20,000 communities participate nationwide each year.
Paint Iowa Beautiful
 Diamond Vogel and Keep Iowa Beautiful announced the grant awards for the 2020 Paint Iowa Beautiful program. The program provides free paint to a wide variety of public service projects throughout Iowa.

“The partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful allows Diamond Vogel to assist and work with many local volunteers that help build communities, making Iowa the number one state in the nation to live,” said Doug Vogel, Vice-President, Marketing, of the Iowa based company.  

Kevin Techau, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful added, “The Paint Iowa Beautiful program helps us increase our assistance to neighborhoods and communities in improving the attractiveness and beauty of where we live. These projects definitely improve the beauty of Iowa, its countryside and its communities.”  

In the 17-year partnership with KIB, Diamond Vogel has awarded over 11,165 gallons of paint for 1,000 community projects in Iowa.

To see the complete list of communities receiving paint, please visit our website .

Applications for the 2021 paint program will be accepted beginning in October 2020 on the KIB website.
Keep Iowa Beautiful Awards
The Keep Iowa Beautiful Board of Directors has named the 2020 annual award winners. The four winners are:

Corporation Award: First Trust & Savings Bank of Wheatland
First Trust & Savings Bank of Wheatland is receiving the 2020 Keep Iowa Beautiful Corporation Award for its outstanding corporate citizenship. The financial commitments to local projects and encouraging employees to be involved in leadership roles on local committees are making our communities and our state a better place to live and work. 
 
Organization Award: Iowa’s County Conservation System
Iowa’s County Conservation System is receiving the 2020 Keep Iowa Beautiful Organization Award for providing a better Iowa County through conservation, education and recreation making Iowa a better place to live.

Robert D. Ray Award of Excellence: Community of Maquoketa
Community of Maquoketa is receiving the Keep Iowa Beautiful Robert D. Ray Award of Excellence for the revitalization efforts through the Maquoketa CAN campaign.

Donald F. Lamberti Hometown Pride Vision Award: Gerald F. Schnepf
Gerald F. Schnepf is receiving the 2020 Keep Iowa Beautiful Donald F. Lamberti Hometown Pride Vision Award for his many years of service as KIB Executive Director making Iowa a stronger and better place to live and raise a family. 

Governor Reynolds was to present the awards in late March but because of the coronavirus the ceremony was cancelled. A special award presentation may be scheduled later this year.
Earth Day 2020
Wednesday, April 22nd marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
Unfortunately, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, many fantastic Earth Day 50 celebrations and clean-ups nationwide have been delayed and/or cancelled. As we work through these unprecedented circumstances, pay attention to social media channels for continued ways to support green initiatives while adhering to social distancing guidelines. For updates on Keep Iowa Beautiful's 2020 events, make sure to follow us on social media!

Join the conversation and follow #DoBeautifulThings on  Twitter  and  Instagram ! 
You Can Help Reduce Litter in Iowa
When you see litter happening on Iowa’s roadways, call 1-888-NOLITTR (1-888-665-4887) to report littering from a vehicle. Reported offenders will receive a warning letter from Keep Iowa Beautiful drawing attention to their offense. This sends the message that people, like you, are watching.
Win a Build with Bags Grant!
Application Deadline Extended: May 30, 2020
Build with Bags
There is still time to apply for a Build with Bags grant provided by Iowa grocers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Build with Bags Grant deadline has been extended until Saturday, May 30, 2020. This will allow grocers additional time to complete requests for letters of endorsement and provide communities some extra time to submit their grant applications.
Your Support Matters!

Keep Iowa Beautiful is a non-profit, organization and as such relies on your support to ensure the success of our environmental education and community outreach programs. 

Donations will help KIB's efforts to support our community. Any amount is valued and appreciated. 

Donations can be made online or checks can be mailed to our office:
Keep Iowa Beautiful
2910 Westown Pkwy #302,
West Des Moines, IA 50266
KEEP IOWA BEAUTIFUL
2910 Westown Parkway, Suite 302 | West Des Moines, IA 50266