Click here to find out more about the Youth Poster Contest.
GAmC Local Coordinator Materials
Every March through May, it's Time to Shine Arkansas during the spring Great American Cleanup™ in Arkansas!
Each year, thousands of Arkansans improve the quality of life in their communities by volunteering in the national Keep America Beautiful® Great American Cleanup™ in Arkansas. This spring cleanup campaign is coordinated and promoted statewide by Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (KAB), a Keep America Beautiful certified affiliate, and will begin March 1 and run through May 31.
All communities across the state are encouraged to become involved in this annual community cleanup effort. Those interested in organizing a Great American Cleanup event in your community should download the coordinator materials below.
Once a community signs on to host a Great American Cleanup in Arkansas event, KAB will work with that community to organize and publicize the effort. KAB will provide volunteers with GLAD® trash bags, gloves, safety vests and T-shirts. Great American Cleanup volunteers will also be registered to win prizes. Promotional materials available to communities include banners, posters, volunteer stickers and brochures. The KAB Facebook page and website are also available to coordinators to promote their events.
During last year's Great American Cleanup in Arkansas, more than 9,700 individuals volunteered more than 32,000 hours in communities across the state. The community improvement effort involved 136 events, with volunteers picking up 1.2 million pounds of litter from 1,591 miles of roadway, trails and shorelines, and 1,707 acres of parks and public areas; closing 36 illegal dumping sites, and improving 81 playgrounds.
Arkansans also recycled 634,191 pounds of newspapers, 6,804 tires and 282,677 pounds of electronics. More than 990 pounds of clothing were collected for reuse.
The total economic value of the 2012 Great American Cleanup to Arkansas communities was more than $890,000.
If you have questions about a Great American Cleanup event in your community or the Great American Cleanup in Arkansas Youth Poster Contest, email us.
Youth Poster Contest
KAB coordinates a Youth Poster Contest in conjunction with the Great American Cleanup in Arkansas to involve elementary school students, increase awareness of the Great American Cleanup in Arkansas, and educate the public about the importance of a clean and beautiful community to economic development, civic pride and environmental quality of life.
Prizes will be awarded in two divisions: Grades K – 2 and Grades 3 – 5. KAB is providing gift certificates for the Top 3 posters in each division. One poster per class may be submitted for statewide judging. 4-H clubs, scout groups and home-schooled students are also encouraged to enter.
Contest entries are due no later than Friday, March 1, 2013. KAB and representatives of the Great American Cleanup in Arkansas will recognize winners in their local communities. Winning posters will be displayed in Thea Foundation's art gallery on Main Street in North Little Rock the week of May 13. Posters will also be posted to KAB's Facebook page.
We are counting on you to share this information with the schools, teachers and youth in your community. You are encouraged to visit schools and youth groups to spread the word. Connections to the Curriculum Frameworks are provided to help classroom educators see where this will fit into lesson plans. We also encourage you to make contact with your local newspaper to help spread the word.
If you have any questions or need more information about the poster contest, contact Elizabeth Philpott, volunteer services coordinator at KAB, One Capitol Mall, Suite 4A-007, Little Rock, AR 72201; 501-682-3507 or 888-742-8701 (toll-free); or elizabeth.philpott@arkansas.gov.
