Executive Director Report
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Missing and seeing friends has been a major challenge for me during this time. In the past weeks, I have enjoyed telephone visits with many of you and will continue to do these. During this time of uncertainty, I am so proud to hear that many of our affiliates have engaged with their families cleaning up around their neighborhoods.
With our state and your communities opening up, I urge everyone to please look at the Keep America Beautiful guidelines in planning your future volunteer cleanups.
Please continue to pray for our affiliates that were affected by the recent tornadoes. Beautiful is seeing people coming together as a community and I had the opportunity to see this when I recently visited Covington County.
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Keep Mississippi Beautiful will miss our dear friend and board member, Drew Allen. So eloquently said by Ron Aldridge,”
in his passing to GLORY
,” Drew passed away on March 19 in Gulfport, Mississippi. Drew, the Allen family and Allen Beverages have always supported Keep Mississippi Beautiful’ s mission. Drew has left a legacy of service and love to all and that smile we will forever miss. Our prayers continue to the Allen Family.
Sarah Kountouris
Executive Director, Keep Mississippi Beautiful
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Great American Cleanup Update
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As our states and local communities begin opening up again, Keep America Beautiful
®
would like to share two resources to help as you re-activate your volunteers in the field.
One document is aimed at individuals who may want to clean up litter in the community and the other is focused on how to conduct group activities post-COVID-19.
As time goes on and restrictions are lifted, these guidelines will be updated as needed. We hope you find these resources useful.
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Keep Columbia/Marion County Beautiful Receives Keep America Beautiful / Lowe's
Community Resilience & Restoration Grant
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Keep Columbia/Marion County Beautiful receives a total of $3,000 from Keep America Beautiful / Lowe's Community Restoration and Resiliency Grant.
When the application was submitted, the community had been hit by two tornadoes within five years. Since submission, they were hit again by two tornadoes plus experienced flooding in April 2020.
With this grant, "Our goal is to improve our "gateways" into Columbia by picking up litter and debris and by planting low-maintenance shrubs and flowers. This will be a project to unite the citizens and will instill pride in our community," Carolyn Burton, VP Chamber, Marion County Development Partnership.
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Keep America Beautiful's Cigarette Litter Prevention Program Grant Recipients
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Keep Meridian/Lauderdale County Beautiful
has received a
$5,000 Cigarette Litter Prevention Program grant
from Keep America Beautiful. This grant will allow volunteers and city and county staff to engage in a fun yet educational activity focused on better health habits for our community and a "buttless goal" for community spaces.
Keep Meridian/Lauderdale County Beautiful Executive Director, Betty Lou Jones, says "There has never been a more appropriate time for organizations to engage in programs and activities that promote safer habits and more healthy challenges for our well being.
For our schools, businesses and meetings, and health guidelines to promote cleaner, greener and healthier practices for our state. The Pandemic has brought new emphasis on how we can insure better protection for our workforce and volunteers who are engaged in Keeping America Beautiful by doing beautiful things at home, work, school and play."
Partners will include American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, Mississippi Department of Health, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, City of Meridian, Lauderdale County, East Mississippi Business Development Center, Meridian Community College, Mississippi State University, Naval Air Station Meridian, Anderson Health Systemsl, Mississippi National Guard and more.
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KMB Donates to Covington County After Tornado
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Keep Mississippi Beautiful Executive Director Sarah Kountouris presented a $500 Keep America Beautiful / Lowe's gift card and cases of Glad trash bags to Covington County for cleanup efforts after a devastating EF-2 tornado on Easter Sunday.
Pictured above is KMB Executive Director Sarah Kountouris, Brother West Garner of The Springs Church of Collins, Senator Joey Fillingane and Representative Noah Sanford.
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KAB Opens Applications for
National Youth Advisory Council
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The Keep America Beautiful® National Youth Advisory Council provides a unique opportunity for high school students from diverse backgrounds across the nation to participate in a service-learning and leadership development program. Keep America Beautiful selects students to contribute to and inform Keep America Beautiful on programs, while acting as ambassadors and leaders for youth service in their communities.
Keep America Beautiful is accepting applications for its 2020-2021 National Youth Advisory Council through
Friday, July 10, 2020
.
Click
here
for the 2020/2021 online application.
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KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL GRANTS AVAILABLE
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Keep America Beautiful's Community Restoration and Resiliency Fund
Rolling Deadline
Keep America Beautiful's Community Restoration and Resiliency Fund benefits Keep America Beautiful Affiliates that serve communities directly affected by natural and environmental disasters. The fund provides immediate and long-term support for initial and ongoing cleanup efforts and helps rebuild vital public spaces: parks, greenways, community gateways, Main Street/downtown areas, open spaces and more.
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Future Dates:
August 7
Jackson E-Waste Collection Day, MS Farmers Market, Jackson
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