Newsletter Archives

How Will You Help America Clean Up?

Each year between March and May, more than 20 thousand communities across America join efforts to tidy up and beautify our collective home in what has become our country’s largest community improvement program, Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup.

The Great American Cleanup relies on the local knowledge and hard work of millions of volunteers that sign up each year and are organized by their local Keep America Beautiful affiliate chapters. The work that they do is as diverse as the communities they represent in response to the unique needs of each place. From debris removal in waterways to garden plantings and the beautification of public spaces, volunteers pitch in to improve their communities from March until May in innumerable creative ways.

The power of collective action cannot be overstated and the impact of the Great American Cleanup is seen in its results. In 2014, over 600 Keep America Beautiful affiliates organized 4 million volunteers across the country to collect over 250 million pounds of recyclables, plant over 41,000 trees, and remove 37 million pounds of litter and debris. Indeed, many hands make light work.

The Great American Cleanup has also become an excellent platform for providing education, increasing awareness, and developing a sense of personal responsibility. Local affiliate chapters have taken the initiative to hold various workshops and trainings during the two months that the Great American Cleanup spans that engage and empower people to understand and take care of the place they live.

Last year, 23 Keep Louisiana Beautiful affiliates banded together to tackle a number of local beautification and improvement issues. Keep Mandeville Beautiful volunteers set their sights on beautifying public spaces with a butterfly garden, while Lake Charles held its annual Trash Bash, an event where residents are encouraged to bring hazardous and toxic wastes such as used batteries, tires, paint, and electronics to a central location for proper disposal. Keep Abbeville Beautiful cleaned 10 sites and collected 54 bags of litter.

Keep Louisiana Beautiful asks you to join in this collective effort to beautify our state by volunteering for local Great American Cleanup events with your local affiliate. Check our event calendar this spring to find out how you can join with others in your community to improve your corner of Louisiana.