[ngg_images gallery_ids=”422″ display_type=”ds-nextgen_royalslider”]
Keep Prince William Beautiful is an area non-profit that works with businesses, individuals and organizations to help keep the county pristine, and to maintain the environmental beauty of the area.
Potomac Local spoke with board president Dave Byrne about the organization and what they do.
PL: Who does your organization serve?
KPWB:
” data-sheets-userformat=”[null,null,513,[null,0],null,null,null,null,null,null,null,null,0]”>Keep Prince William Beautiful’s services and programs are available to all residents, businesses, and organizations in Prince William County. Last year we worked with over 1700 volunteers and educated more than 8600 citizens on the topics of litter, recycling, and water quality.
PL: Why is your organization important to the community?
KPWB: For over 30 years Keep Prince William Beautiful’s programs and services have aided in abating litter, increasing recycling rates, and most recently, protecting our storm drains.
Supporting and developing community cleanups within Prince William County allows for litter to be removed before it can harm land, wildlife or our waterways. A litter-free community improves community appearance and quality of life while discouraging crime and vandalism. The safer citizens feel the more they will patronize the businesses in their community, leading to economic benefits.
Educating the public about recycling decreases the space needed for landfills by reducing the quantity of items disposed of at the landfill. This decrease is area needed for waste disposal allows Prince William County to maintain a green spaces for both environmental and community benefit. With over 430,000 residents, Prince William County creates a lot of waste. Keep Prince William Beautiful program’s provide education and opportunity for residents to manager their waste in sustainable ways.
A clean community is essential to the safety, economic development and well-being of our communities. Keep Prince William Beautiful provides services, programs and education for a clean Prince William County.
PL: What is the history of the organization?
KPWB: Founded in 1982, KPWB resulted from citizen concern for environmental issues in Prince William County. Beginning with Spring Cleanups, the group grew to be called the Litter Control Council by 1986 and their vision expanded to long-term environmental cleanliness. Adding graffiti abatement and recycling education to the program list a few years later led to the name change of Prince William Clean Community Council.
In 1998 the Council passed the rigorous certification process with Keep American Beautiful and became an affiliate, providing the organization access to current research, educational tools and a national support network of like-minded organizations. While celebrating their 30th birthday in 2012, the organization rebranded to Keep Prince William Beautiful (KPWB), allowing for an increase in program offerings; including beautification and storm drain labeling. Keep Prince William Beautiful is proud of its heritage and looks forward to continuing the tradition of empowering our community to become self-sufficient stewards of our local environment.
PL: Why is your organization located?
KPWB: Keep Prince William Beautiful, 4391 Ridgewood Center Drive, Suite F Prince William, VA 22192
PL: What is your annual budget?
KPWB: $151,974.00
PL: How can residents help your cause?
KPWB: 1. Donate/Sponsor
2. Request an Educational Outreach Presentation at group meetings, schools, expos, etc.
3. Volunteer! Volunteers lead community cleanup projects, participate in beautification activities, support booths and games as community events, assist in the office, and much more! Whether you’re an individual, an organization, or a corporate group, we have the perfect volunteer opportunity for you! KPWB has both one-time and ongoing opportunities available year-round.
PL: What makes your organization different/unique?
KPWB: Keep Prince William Beautiful is an organization that effects every single resident in Prince William County. Not only is a clean environment essential to everyone currently in our community, but our present actions directly affect our future residents and community’s success. Through our programs and services, we provide opportunities for community members to take responsibility for their own environment so they can have a direct impact on the future of where they work/play/live.
*This post is sponsored by Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire.
