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KPB Celebrates 20 Years of Cleanups


For Immediate Release: March 24, 2005
Contact: Casey Eckert-Luker
KPB Education Coordinator
Phone: 972-769-4216

KEEP PLANO BEAUTIFUL CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF COMMUNITY-WIDE CLEANUPS
Radio Disney to entertain during Volunteer Appreciation Picnic


Keep Plano Beautiful (KPB) is calling for volunteers to pick up litter and debris around neighborhoods, schools or businesses, parks, greenbelts, roadways, or creeks throughout Plano and to paint, plant, and do whatever it takes to put a “shine” on our community this spring! KPB is counting on volunteers, young and old, to show why litter “bugs” Plano residents and how, unchecked, litter can hurt our community.

The Great American Cleanup™ (GAC), which runs from March through May, is America’s largest litter prevention, beautification, and community improvement program. President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush are serving as Honorary Chairs of the 2005 Great American Cleanup™. KPB’s exciting target event, scheduled for Saturday, April 2, 2005, is an opportunity for ALL Plano residents to get involved and join forces with over 2 million volunteers nationwide participating in cleanups in more than 14,000 communities.

For the first time, Plano ISD middle schools have joined forces with KPB to support the Great American Cleanup. Fundraisers have been conducted at six of the the honor of kissing “Molly” the Cow at the Volunteer Appreciation Picnic!

Groups and individuals can volunteer to clean locations all over Plano from 8:00am to 11:00am on April 2. Following a morning of hard work, cleanup volunteers are encouraged to bring their collected litter, as well as the “most unusual littered item” found during their cleanup, to Bob Woodruff Park; the items will be displayed, and the most unusual items in three categories will win prizes.

Volunteers will be honored with lunch, treated to entertainment by Radio Disney, given photo opportunities with many community mascots, and invited to participate in interactive environmental activities for adults and kids alike. The event is sponsored locally by the following: Trinity Waste Services, OTTO Container Management, Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., Frito-Lay, Inc., Medical Center of Plano, Ozarka Water, Wienerschnitzel, and Whole Foods Market. A special feature of the Picnic will be a thank-you to Skaggs Elementary 5th Grader, Laura Lee, the winner of the 2005 GAC t-shirt design contest.

Last year, more than 2 million Great American Cleanup™ volunteers picked up 9.6 million pounds of liter, collected recyclables, eliminated illegal dump sites, renewed parks, planted community gardens, and cleaned up lakes, rivers, seashores, and roadsides all across the country. In 2004, over 2,600 Plano volunteers picked up over 7.5 tons of trash and debris locally, with almost 1.5 tons of landscape waste diverted from the landfill to the City’s compost site.
To register online for Plano’s largest citywide cleanup, please go to the KPB website at: www.keepplanobeautiful.org.

Keep Plano Beautiful is a City of Plano Commission that engages individuals to volunteer and take responsibility for enhancing their community through litter awareness, prevention, and community beautification. Keep Plano Beautiful is affiliated with Keep America Beautiful, Inc., and Keep Texas Beautiful, Inc. For more information about KPB and the Great American Cleanup™, go to the KPB website or call the KPB office at 972-769-4130.