Local Rotary Club Selects Eco-Focused Nonprofit as a Recipient of its “Avenues of Service” Grant

Lawrenceville, Ga. – June 23, 2017 – On June 20 at its monthly meeting at the 1818 Club, the Rotary Club of Gwinnett announced the recipients of its 2017 “Avenues of Service” Grants. Environmentally-focused Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful was proud to be listed among them. Each year, the Gwinnett Rotary awards a number of grants to local non-profits – the funds of which stem from annual fundraising efforts and a charitable endowment from the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia. The Club’s Charitable Giving Committee conducts a formalized granting process. They encourage grant applications across the community and give each request careful consideration. “Avenues of Service” Grants align with the Rotary’s six areas of focus: Peace & Conflict Prevention/Resolution; Disease Prevention & Treatment; Water & Sanitation; Maternal & Child Health; Basic Education & Literacy; and Economic & Community Development. Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful was selected for the Water & Sanitation Grant.

Karen Fine Saltiel, President of the Rotary Club of Gwinnett County had this to say about the grants and the Club’s role within the community, “Rotary’s motto is Service Above Self. Our 100+ members are actively engaged on so many fronts. We are honored to give of our time, our vocational expertise and our financial resources where we can to help make the world a better place. It is our privilege to serve in this community and it’s our hope that our grants will touch and positively impact the lives of thousands.”

With the Gwinnett Rotary grant in the amount of $1500, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful will be able to further expand its Great Gwinnett Wetlands initiative. Created in partnership between Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and Gwinnett County’s Department of Water Resources, Great Gwinnett Wetlands is designed to protect a key wetland area within the county while spreading awareness about the importance of wetlands. Through special soils and plants that allow wetlands to filter and store large amounts of water, these vital water systems provide both natural pollution filtration and flood prevention. During its annual Great Gwinnett Wetlands event, an average of more than 200 volunteers gather at a designated wetland to minimize pollution in the area, remove invasive plants that crowd out the natural wetland plants, receive hands-on learning through water quality monitoring demonstrations, and take part in small-scale wetland improvement projects.

“In order to make an even greater impact, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful would like to expand our current annual initiative to an ongoing program with the help of Radloff Middle School,” explained Schelly Marlatt, Executive Director for GCB. “Radloff students would receive hands-on learning by becoming involved in regular water quality testing and key wetland improvement projects. This grant from Rotary Club of Gwinnett will help pay for supplies such as water quality monitoring kits and invasive plant removal tools so the group from Radloff can assist for one school year as stewards of the Bromolow Wetland area in Duluth – located opposite the school. It ties in beautifully with Radloff Middle School’s focus on Problem Based Learning, while protecting a valuable water source at the same time. Engaged in hands-on, read-world science using streams as living classrooms, the students will collect scientifically valid data to demonstrate the results of concentrated efforts to improve the local waterways, while becoming further educated about water quality, watershed ecology, and water pollution. It is our hope that the result of these efforts is water quality data demonstrating a healthier wetland system and greater awareness of how to prevent water and sanitation concerns. We are incredibly grateful to Rotary Club of Gwinnett County for selecting our organization as a recipient of this year’s ‘Avenues of Service’ grant, and we hope to make them proud.”

To learn more about Great Gwinnett Wetlands and ways to get local schools involved with Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, interested parties are encouraged to 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, please visit www.GwinnettCB.org.   

About Rotary Club of Gwinnett County: Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service and encourages high ethical standards in all vocations. Rotary Club membership is by invitation only. Rotary Club of Gwinnett County was founded in 1973 and has been serving and giving back to the local community for more than 40 years. To learn more about Rotary Club of Gwinnett County, visit www.GwinnettRotary.com.