Keep America Beautiful encourages 'Liberty Gardens'
Keep America Beautiful, Inc., has announced that the 2002 Great American
Cleanup—its most prominent national program-- will include an initiative
designated as "Liberty Gardens."
KAB is encouraging all citizens to join in an unprecedented effort to clean up
and beautify the United States, while providing a living tribute to our nation
and the resilience and strength of its people, according to PR Newswire.
"During 2002, KAB is asking individuals and organizations across America to
create special places of natural beauty within their communities where people
can both honor the memory of those Americans who have perished in acts of
terrorism, and reaffirm the principles of freedom and liberty on which our
country has been built," said G. Raymond Empson, president of Keep America
Beautiful, Inc.
Coordinated local and state KAB affiliates and other participating
organizations, more than 2.2 million volunteers took part this year. According
to PR Newswire, the results of the 5.8 million hours of volunteer activities
provide a sample of their extraordinary accomplishments including:
- Nearly 176 million pounds of litter were collected.
- More than 2.5 million trees, flowers and bulbs were
planted.
- Approximately 14,000 homes and buildings were painted.
- More than 20,000 graffiti sites were abated.
- More than half a million tires and batteries were
collected for recycling.
- Almost 6,000 playgrounds were cleaned, painted and
restored.
- More than 12 million pounds of clothing were collected
for reuse, and
- More than 256,000 persons attended 2,829 educational workshops.
Keep America Beautiful, Inc. is a national, nonprofit public education organization whose goal is to form community partnerships dedicated to empowering individuals to take greater responsibility for enhancing their community environments. For more information, visit http://www.kab.org.