Have you looked outside lately? Take a walk around the block with your kids. Hike through the woods. Or just look at your own yard after a windy day. It's a mess!Plastic bags, ignored roadside newspapers, candy wrappers, water bottles and more. All just lying around cluttering up the landscape. On a recent hike my kids and I actually found a ceiling fan in the woods...A ceiling fan!?!?
It is a sad absolute that when I take my children outside, they will see more trash laying around than other children playing and wildlife put together. Just as with violence on TV, the more they see it, the more immune they become to litter being a part of their world. If we don't do something about it, together as a family and a community, litter will become a permanent part of our great outdoors.
One way for communities to get together to tackle the problem is underway right now! Keep America Beautiful™, the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization, is hosting The Great American Cleanup™ in communities, both nationally and internationally. "The Great American Cleanup™, [is] the nation's largest community improvement program, [which] takes place annually from March 1 through May 31, involving an estimated 2.8 million volunteers and attendees…The hardworking volunteers donated more than 7.7 million hours in 2007 to clean, beautify and improve more than 17,000 communities during more than 30,000 events in all 50 states and beyond. Activities included beautifying parks and recreation areas, cleaning seashores and waterways, handling recycling collections, picking up litter, planting trees and flowers, and conducting educational programs and litter-free events.
"Keep America Beautiful™ believes that each of us holds an obligation
to preserve and protect our environment.
Through our everyday choices and actions,
we collectively have a huge impact on our world."
to preserve and protect our environment.
Through our everyday choices and actions,
we collectively have a huge impact on our world."
Get Local & Get Involved!
"There are more than 565 certified community affiliates of Keep America Beautiful™ doing good works." Click here to find a group near you.
Can't find an affiliate in your area?
Start one of your own. "Organize a clean-up committee by seeking out a few people who share your passion for the cause. Set a meeting date and let the ideas flow. Decide which project everyone wants to tackle." Click here to learn how you can Organize your own Great American Cleanup™
Here are just some ideas of how you and your kids can get involved in Keep America Beautiful™:
- Host a tree planting party
- Put a new coat of paint on a graffiti-marked wall
- Adopt a road with your friends and plant flowers
- Sponsor a litter collection contest
- Clean up a river or field that has become an illegal dump site
- Collect recyclable and reusable items on your block and deliver to a recycling center
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