More than 30 Keep America Beautiful Affiliates
Receive Grants Totaling $160,000 to Support Local Projects
Keep Irving Beautiful and the City of Irving Parks Department along with community volunteers from Contech Engineered Solutions and Land Design Inc. teamed up to plant a variety of native Texas trees at the Irving Tree Farm. Over a two day period volunteers planted 129 trees. The trees will be nurtured and cared for at the farm until they are needed in our public spaces throughout the community.
“Keep Irving Beautiful is a strong organization because of our partnerships,” said KIB and Tree Board Member Scott Wilson, “and this project is a perfect example of that. Two companies that we have enjoyed partnering with previously, Land Design and Contech, were able to step up and help when this opportunity presented itself. The partnership with our outstanding Parks Department has allowed KIB to do so much good in the community, and the trees themselves are here because of our partnership with Keep America Beautiful, which allowed us to apply for and win the UPS Foundation Grant.”
The Keep America Beautiful/UPS grant program is intended to help: sequester levels of carbon dioxide through strategic plantings; emphasize the importance of native tree planting; produce fruit from fruit trees for local consumption; and plant trees that will have a greater likelihood of withstanding natural disasters in communities that have lost a significant number of trees because of a recent natural disaster.
The UPS Foundation grants are part of UPS’s Global Forestry Initiative designed to plant, protect and preserve trees in urban and rural areas in the United States and around the world. UPS has surpassed the company’s 2014 tree planting goals, planting more than 1.7 million trees during that year’s grant cycle. Since 2012, The UPS Foundation and UPS employees have planted more than 3 million trees across 47 countries to support the environment.
“Keep America Beautiful is proud to be part of The UPS Foundation’s global effort to restore and stabilize the tree canopy in areas hit by natural disasters,” said Jennifer Jehn, president and CEO, Keep America Beautiful. “Our community-based affiliates are poised to take action in this effort as native trees are such a vital part of making our neighborhoods greener, healthier, safer and more beautiful places to live.”
“It is a privilege for UPS to partner with Keep America Beautiful, an organization which has been advocating for and protecting the environment for decades,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation. “Last year, The UPS Foundation gave nearly $4 million toward environmental sustainability efforts worldwide. Our Global Forestry Initiative helps foster more resilient, sustainable communities globally. Awarding these grants to Keep America Beautiful affiliates demonstrates UPS’s continued commitment to the environment.”
The UPS Community Tree and Recovery Tree Planting Grant Program, now in its eighth year, is one element of The UPS Foundation’s overall support of Keep America Beautiful. The UPS Foundation also has supported Keep America Beautiful’ s Vision for America Award, which is presented annually to distinguished leaders whose personal and corporate commitments have significantly enhanced civic, environmental and social stewardship throughout the U.S. UPS was the recipient of the Vision for America Award in 2007.
About Keep Irving Beautiful
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. To find out how you can volunteer, go to www.keepirvingbeautiful.org or call the KIB office at 972-721-2175.
About Keep America Beautiful
At Keep America Beautiful, we want to ensure that beauty is our lasting signature. A leading national nonprofit, Keep America Beautiful inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. We envision a country where every community is a clean, green, and beautiful place to live. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful provides the expertise, programs and resources to help people prevent litter, reduce waste, increase recycling, and protect the natural beauty of the areas around us. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 600 community-based Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the support of corporate partners, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. To learn how you can donate or take action, visit kab.org. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, like us on Facebook, or view us on YouTube.