Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) celebrated another successful year in 2015 educating and engaging the community in its three main focus areas – litter abatement, beautification and recycling. KIB hosted its two major cleanups, the “Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off” in April and the 24th annual Trash Bash in September, both at Trinity View Park, in addition to smaller scale cleanups with corporate, school, neighborhood associations and faith group partners, which totaled 3,650 hours of service. Our volunteers removed over 14,400 pounds of litter, keeping it from reaching waterways, as well as diverting over 3,360 pounds of this to a recycling center rather than the landfill. Adopt-a-spot volunteers helped keep our neighborhoods clean year-round, collecting more than 2,200 bags of trash and recyclables while contributing approximately 4,000 hours in this effort.
In the area of beautification, KIB volunteers helped give a fresh look to Irving park facilities, like the Senter Park pool, where VHA and LandDesign, Inc. each had a community service day to paint the fencing and handrails, and Running Bear Park, where SouthGate Constructors’ summer interns painted fences near the playground. KIB received a $5,000 grant from the UPS Foundation through Keep America Beautiful, which was used to purchase native trees which will be planted at the city’s tree farm. Irving was also chosen by the Texas A&M Forest Service for the “100 Trees for 100 Cities” program in celebration of their 100th anniversary.
KIB promoted recycling through its “green events” program, where recycling stations were provided and attendees were encouraged to keep grounds litter-free. At community events like the YMCA Fall Festival, KIB also had a table with a spinning wheel with questions about recycling and the environment, and gave away recycled books (donated by the Friends of the Irving Library) as prizes. We also celebrated America Recycles Day with the YMCA seniors group, who collected 1,440 pounds of recyclable material.
KIB was recognized both by its state and national affiliates in their awards programs, receiving Gold Star and Sustained Excellence from Keep Texas Beautiful and the President’s Circle Award from Keep America Beautiful. KIB also won 2nd place in the nation for largest population category in the Affiliate Awards.
“None of this could have been possible without the dedication of our volunteers and sponsors,” said KIB Board Treasurer Chuck Kirk. “On behalf of the entire board, I would like to thank everyone who was a part of our success in 2015.”
Keep Irving Beautiful is a non-profit, grassroots, leadership organization dedicated to educating our community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification in order to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of our city. As an award winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, Keep Irving Beautiful reaches out to and partners with all sectors of our city including government, business, church, cultural, educational, neighborhood and civic organizations. If you are interested in volunteering with KIB, or making your activity a “green event,” please go to www.keepirvingbeautiful.org, or call the KIB office at 972-721-2175.