2018-2019 Green Youth Advisory Council for the Environmentally Focused Nonprofit Will Play Integral Role in Launch of Food Waste Warrior Program – Funded by Keep America Beautiful and Lowe’s Community Partners Grant Program
Lawrenceville, Ga. – September 25, 2018 (Press Release) – In 2017, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful (GCB) was proud to announce that it had been awarded a $20,000 Community Improvement Grant through the Keep America Beautiful/Lowe’s Community Partners Grant Program. This year, the environmentally-focused nonprofit is doubly proud to announce that it has been awarded the grant once again. In 2017, the funds were used to establish a Plant it Forward Program at participating Gwinnett County Public Schools. In 2018, the funds will be used to kick off the Food Waste Warriors Program – designed to pair a high school with an elementary school. Using food waste audit procedures outlined by the World Wildlife Foundation, Food Waste Warriors will begin with a pilot program at several local elementary schools before it’s opened to any school in Gwinnett County that wishes to run a Food Waste Audit.
The 2018 Keep America Beautiful/Lowe’s Community Partners Grant Program engages local volunteers, working alongside Lowe’s Heroes volunteers, to take action on projects that focus on critical, local needs. In addition to GCB’s grant initiative, Lowe’s is supporting more than 40 other Keep America Beautiful grant-funded community service projects in 2018 as well as Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup. Since the partnership began in 2011, Lowe’s has contributed nearly $8 million, with more than 2,100 Lowe’s Heroes volunteers helping Keep America Beautiful improve local communities.
“These targeted grant projects will provide significant benefits in many areas of the country, both urban and rural, that often are neglected,” said Keep America Beautiful President and CEO Helen Lowman. “Our network of affiliates has been particularly creative in using these grassroots grants to develop and deliver programs that embrace their community members, while transforming often neglected public spaces into beautiful places.”
Lowe’s director of community relations, Julie Yenicheck, weighed in on the inspiration behind the Keep America Beautiful/Lowe’s Community Partners Grant Program, “At Lowe’s, we want to help people love where they live in the communities where our employees and customers live and work. Our commitment to community investment doesn’t stop at charitable giving. We’re proud of our Lowe’s Heroes volunteer involvement and the difference they have made nationwide. Loving where you live extends beyond walls and fences, and we applaud Keep America Beautiful’s vision.”
Schelly Marlatt, Executive Director for Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful wholeheartedly agrees with applauding KAB’s vision and had this to say about the grant, “We are extremely fortunate to be affiliated with such a visionary and vital national organization at Keep America Beautiful. I cannot tell you what an honor it is to be chosen a second year in a row by KAB and Lowe’s for their Community Improvement Grant. It tells my team and our partners that both of those organizations really believe in what we’re doing with our local school system through programs like the Plant It Forward program and now the Food Waste Warriors program. After we’ve run our initial tests, we will develop a special Food Waste Warriors kit with instructions, so schools can conduct their audits on their own. Once completed, participating school will be able to apply with us to receive funding to implement some of the improvements they identified after reviewing their audit results. We will be including the 2018-2019 Green Youth Advisory Council in this effort, along with members of Gwinnett County’s Youth Commission, to be champions for schools in their area.”
Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful Green Youth Advisory Council Members for the 2018-2019 School Year include:
Archer High School – Kamal McAllister and Sarah Parker
Berkmar High School – Jackie Sanchez
Brookwood High School – Jeslyn Kim, Mitch Mullin, Eric Phung and Will Skillen
Dacula High School – Theresa Argott and Malika Montgomery
Discovery High School – Santiago Atuesta and Rafel Perez-Rodriguez
Gwinnett School of Math Science and Technology – Johanna Villegas
Gwinnett Online – Abigail Mathews and Michelle van Rooyen
Lanier High School – Nayeli Hernandez
Meadowcreek High School – Hanh Bui
Norcross High School – Jasing Yang and Ning-Ning Jao
Parkview High School – Kristin Partlow
Peachtree Ridge High School – Hassan Siddiqui and Gabriela Maduro Salvarrey
Made up of 21 high school students who display solid leadership skills and a true concern for the environment, GCB’s Green Youth Advisory Council of 2018-2019 represents the fifth installment of this program designed to foster youth engagement and environmental stewardship, as well as a combined love of and respect for the Gwinnett County community. To learn more about Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, donate to its efforts, sign on to one of its programs or volunteer for an upcoming cleanup event, please visit www.GwinnettCB.org.
About Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful: Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful Services, Inc. (GCB) is a Keep America Beautiful affiliate and award-winning 501(c)(3) charitable organization. It boasts an expansive community-based network dedicated to finding long-term solutions to environmental and quality of life issues through individual action. The organization is guided by a Citizens Advisory Board that represents all sectors of the Gwinnett County community. A nationally recognized leader in creating cleaner, greener and more livable communities throughout Gwinnett, GCB involves more than 100,000 volunteers annually to clean and restore public places, recycle more, protect watersheds and develop the next generation of environmental stewards. To learn more about Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and its mission of “Connecting People and Resources for a Sustainable Gwinnett,” please visit www.GwinnettCB.org.
About Lowe’s in the Community: Lowe’s, a FORTUNE® 50 home improvement company, has a 60-year legacy of supporting the communities it serves through programs that focus on K-12 public education and community improvement projects. In the past decade, Lowe’s and the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation together have contributed nearly $300 million to these efforts, and for more than two decades Lowe’s Heroes volunteers have donated their time to make our communities better places to live. For the latest news, visit Newsroom.Lowes.com or follow @LowesMedia on Twitter.
About Keep America Beautiful: Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Celebrating its 65th Anniversary in 2018, Keep America Beautiful strives to End Littering, Improve Recycling and Beautify America’s Communities. Behavior change – steeped in education, research and behavioral science – is our cornerstone. We empower generations of community stewards to deliver measurable environmental, economic and social benefits. The organization is driven by more than 600 state and local affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the collaborative support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.
