IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area | Keep Pensacola Beautiful, INC.

27 Sep Keep Pensacola Beautiful, INC.

Posted at 14:38h in 2022, Environment and Recreation, Nonprofits by Jae Vogei

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KEEP PENSACOLA BEAUTIFUL, INC.

KPB COVERS MORE GROUND

Grant Year: 2022 | Focus Area: Environment and Recreation | Grant Amount: $103,820 | Grant Status: In Progress

Keep Pensacola Beautiful's mission is to provide education and resources for sustained community improvement. Keep Pensacola Beautiful, or "KPB," was founded in 1979 by a group of concerned citizens who were interested in tackling the growing problem of roadside litter in Escambia County. Over the 40+ years, the organization's offerings have expanded, and it officially became an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful in 1995 and aligned its priorities and strategic direction with that of the national organization. Keep Pensacola Beautiful serves all of Escambia County. KPB's Services Crew cleans and maintains over 70 parks and boat ramps across the county. Staff work with Escambia County School District and other educational organizations to provide environmental education to children throughout the county. Keep Pensacola Beautiful offers a wide range of programs and services, all centered around litter reduction, recycling education, and community beautification. One of the most popular programs is Adopt-a-Spot. Members of the community pick a park or spot around Escambia County and adopt it, and it is their responsibility to clean the area quarterly with assistance from KPB.

OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT

Through KPB's mission, programs, and services, there is a constant focus on revitalizing, restoring, and enhancing the environment in Escambia County. Currently, personal vehicles are used for programs. The IMPACT funds will allow Keep Pensacola Beautiful to purchase one new Services Truck and one new Programs Van. The van will be an addition to the current fleet and be used solely for programs, initiatives, and outreach in the community. Both of these vehicles will be used throughout all of Escambia County, allowing KPB to more effectively fulfill its purpose and enhance the quality of life across all five districts of Escambia County. With the Programs Van, KPB will be able to travel to each of the Escambia County Schools with all of the supplies needed in one trip to the school. With the new Services Truck, the services team will be able to service Escambia County's parks and boat ramps more effectively. Both new vehicles will allow Keep Pensacola Beautiful to transport all the supplies needed for beach cleanups in one trip to all of Escambia County's beaches alleviating the need for multiple trips.

EXPECTED IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY

Keep Pensacola Beautiful believes that our communities, towns, and residents must be educated on reducing, reusing, and recycling. The purchase of these vehicles will allow Keep Pensacola Beautiful to cover more ground. KPB will be able to increase all its programs, services, and initiatives across Escambia County. For example, the Recycle at Work initiative involves the ink recycling program. For this program, KPB personnel travel across the county once a month picking up ink cartridges at businesses to recycle. With a dedicated Programs Van, this task would not take a truck away from the services crew or put undue pressure on an employee to use their vehicle. All of Keep Pensacola Beautiful's programs, initiatives, and services, will be expanded with this project. The new Services Truck will allow Keep Pensacola Beautiful to more effectively service the over 70 parks and boat ramps in the community. The Program Van will allow Keep Pensacola Beautiful to increase outreach and program numbers and provide more educational resources to the community, reducing the amount of waste produced.