Keep Irving Beautiful Recognized as Gold Star Affiliate by Keep Texas Beautiful
One of 82 Texas Communities Honored for Exceptional Community Improvement Efforts
- Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB), a statewide grassroots environmental and community improvement non-profit organization, was recently named Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) a Gold Star Affiliate. Gold Star is the highest recognition highest status any community affiliate can achieve.
“Our affiliates are the backbone of our organization. We are proud to honor those going above and beyond to keep their communities clean and beautiful,” says Suzanne Kho, Executive Director of Keep Texas Beautiful. “Our Gold Star Affiliates are educating and engaging community members, actively recruiting and managing volunteers, hosting cleanup and beautification events throughout their community and so much more.”
In 2022, KTB affiliates engaged 178,648 volunteers who contributed 78,955 hours to collect 2.4 million pounds of waste and recyclables from Texas roadways, trails, and waterways. Keep Irving Beautiful successfully implemented programs to clean up litter, reduce and recycle waste, educate local citizens, and their work beautifies and enhances the local community.
As the local affiliate of Keep Texas Beautiful, KIB hosted activities which engaged 8,078 volunteers who contributed 10.866 hours of service. They collected 24,726 pounds of trash and recyclables in cleanups, enhanced the visual appeal of several parks with paint projects, and helped to plant 29 trees in public spaces.
KIB Board President Scott Wilson credited volunteers for the success of the organization. “KIB accomplishes so much in the Irving community, and we could not do that without the dedication of our volunteers,” said Wilson. “We are proud to be a Keep Texas Beautiful affiliate, and it is important to us to strive for the highest levels of achievement. We thank KTB for this honor.”
In 2004, KTB introduced the concept of Gold Star recognition to recognize those communities who sought to go above and beyond the established requirements. To remain in good standing with KTB, community affiliates must submit a report, pay dues, attend training, and participate in a KTB-endorsed activity annually.
To achieve Gold Star status, affiliates must additionally share information on their mission and goals, answer questions about their economic development and diversity and inclusion practices, or participate in the Beautify Texas Awards or Governor’s Community Achievement Awards programs. They also must provide a letter of support from their community. KTB will formally recognize Gold Star communities during the KTB Conference on June 26-28, 2023.
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About Keep Irving Beautiful
Keep Irving Beautiful is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of the city. As an award-winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, Keep Irving Beautiful reaches out to all sectors of the community, including government, businesses, churches, as well as cultural, educational, neighborhood and civic organizations. For more information on volunteering with KIB or making an activity a “green event,” visit CityofIrving.org/KIB or call (972) 721-2175.
About Keep Texas Beautiful
Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) is a non-profit organization dedicated to making Texas the best place to live, work, and play! Our mission is to inspire and empower Texans to make their communities clean and beautiful. We provide resources for community improvement projects, clean-ups, and youth engagement efforts across the state. Our Keep Texas Recycling program provides technical assistance, education, and access to markets to increase recycling in rural and underserved communities.
Everything we do is focused on mobilizing volunteers to take action by providing them with tools, resources, and training. Our fieldwork includes research on best practices for litter reduction along with the development of community programs to prevent the flow of litter to the Gulf of Mexico.
Founded in 1967, Keep Texas Beautiful’s work is driven by its network of affiliate members, communities, volunteers, and supporters that span the state, and reach 17 million Texans annually.
For more information and to find your closest affiliate, visit www.ktb.org. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.