2017 School Beautification Grant Winners

(Dalton, GA, September 15, 2017) – Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is pleased to announce the winners of the third annual School Beautification Grants for 2017. The committee for Beautification and Community Greening established the grant program in celebration of National Planting Day, which took place September 8 and is celebrated thru the end of November.

Public and private schools in the Dalton, GA and Whitfield County were invited to apply for funding to implement a project related to planting native plants and beautifying the community. Each project aims to improve the visual aspects of the facility or provide an educational opportunity related to plants. Beautification grants range from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $250.

This year the following ten schools were awarded a grant for their National Planting Day project:

1.    Blue Ridge Elementary School: Bringing New Life to Our Garden

2.    Dalton Middle School: Pollinator Garden for Bird Sanctuary

3.    Park Creek School: STEAM Garden Georgia Style

4.    Dalton High School: Renovation Recovery!

5.    Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy and Phoenix High School: School Beautification

6.    Antioch Elementary School: Courtyard Beautification

7.    Morris Innovative High School: First Impressions

8.    Tunnel Hill Elementary: Recreating the LeVerne Damron Reading Garden

9.    Dalton Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology: Bringing the Beauty from Within to the Surface

10. Roan School: Garden Club Pollinator Project

Projects will be completed by December 1 and each recipient will submit a project summary by December 19 to showcase their work. Visit Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s website www.KeepDaltonWhtifieldBeautiful.org or follow them on Facebook to get updates on the progress of these projects.  

National Planting Day is celebrated annually by Keep America Beautiful in the fall as an opportunity to encourage volunteers to plant native species restoring ecological balance to the environment while creating greener, more beautiful communities. Learn more about this event at www.kab.org.

Litter Enforcement Workshop To Be Held September 6

Litter Enforcement Training Workshop

September 6, 2017 • Dalton, GA

Register Here

“Successful litter prevention requires a three-pronged approach including community education, eradication and enforcement”, said Sarah Visser, Executive Director of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, “Law enforcement officers and members of the judicial system are crucial partners in keeping our communities litter free and economically vibrant.”

The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation awarded a grant to Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful and several other Georgia affiliates to make communities safer by encouraging the enforcement of Georgia’s Comprehensive Litter Prevention and Abatement Act. “These workshops provide them with the tools and information they need to enforce the law successfully” added Visser.

Open to police officers, sheriff’s departments, code enforcement officials, prosecutors, judges and others charged with enforcing the law, the workshops, hosted by local Keep Georgia Beautiful Affiliates, will connect officials with resources and information to support them in reducing litter. Attendees will learn how aggressive litter enforcement has been used as a deterrent to additional crimes and how to work with the Courts and others to successfully deter littering and illegal dumping.

The workshop for the Northwest Georgia area will be presented by DNR Game and Fish Officer Scott Carroll on Wednesday, September 6 from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Dalton Police Department’s training room at 301 Jones Street. 3 hours of POST credit is available for certified law enforcement officers that complete the workshop in the subjects of Environmental Law Enforcement, Tactics, and Solutions.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is hosting the event with special thanks to the Dalton Police Department, and the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. The workshop is available for free to pre-registered attendees, thanks in part to the grant from the Foundation. Pre-registration is available online at https://kdwb.ticketleap.com/litter2017 until September 5.

2017 School Beautification Grants Available Thru Keep Dalton Whitfield Beautiful

(Dalton, GA, August 1, 2017) – Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is pleased to announce the availability of School Beautification Grants for Fall 2017. The committee for Beautification and Community Greening has established mini-grants in celebration of National Planting Day. Beautification grants may range from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $250.

Public and private schools in the Dalton, GA and Whitfield County area are invited to apply for funding that can help implement a project related to planting native plants. A school club, a single classroom, whole grade level or the entire school may organize a project and apply for a grant.

National Planting Day is celebrated annually by Keep America Beautiful in the fall as an opportunity to encourage volunteers to plant native species restoring ecological balance to the environment while creating greener, more beautiful communities. Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is making these grants available to improve the visual aspects of our community through projects that beautify and clean the environment.

Knowing that children play a very important part in making this happen we want them to reap the benefits by participating in a project for their very own school. Beautification projects could include establishing or supporting a school garden, planting flowers in an outdoor space, or using plants for educational purposes.

Grant applications must be submitted online no later than September 8 at www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org using the form on the Beautification Grant Application page.  Previous projects from 2015 and 2016 can be seen on the School Beautification Projects Page. 

For questions regarding the form or any aspects of your proposed project call executive director Liz Swafford at 706-278-5001. Grant winners will be announced September 15. Projects must be completed by December 1 and a project summary and photos are to be submitted by December 19. 

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful Receives Awards for 2016 Activities

Pictured are Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful board members with the awards for 2016. Front row (left to right): Karey Williams, Liz Swafford, Anthony Cline. Middle row: Patricia Edwards, Scott Delay. Top row: Phillip Pfeifer, Chris Cochran, Dirk Verhoeff, Jennifer Jefferies, Joe Thomas, Aaron Marcelli, Clyde Taylor.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, a local non-profit dedicated to building a more vibrant community has received two awards in recognition of its activities in 2016. The group received the Governor’s Circle Award on behalf of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, and the President’s Circle Award on behalf of Keep America Beautiful. Both awards recognize exemplary performance by certified affiliates in reducing litter, minimizing waste and greening local communities.

The statewide award recipients were presented at the State Capitol as part of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation’s Annual Legislative Day in February. The President’s Circle awards were presented at the Keep America Beautiful National Conference in January.

“The affiliates receiving the Governor’s Circle Award represent the best of community improvement efforts”, said Sarah Visser, Executive Director of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, “they are doing the hard work every day to keep their communities economically vibrant and environmentally sustainable”.

“One of Keep America Beautiful’s most effective tools is the work of our grassroots network of affiliate organizations, which has an impact on millions of Americans each year,” said Keep America Beautiful COO Becky Lyons. “Our affiliates are providing real solutions that help create communities that are socially connected, environmentally healthy and economically sound.”

Last year the volunteers and board members facilitated several community activities including the annual Christmas Tree and Electronics Recycling event, beautification grants to local schools, the Magic of Recycling show for elementary schools, Adopt a Mile cleanups, and the annual river cleanup. They also provided litter prevention and beautification information to residents at the Prater’s Mill Fair, Business Expo, and Dalton State, among other activities.

Visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org to register for the KDWB newsletter, follow us on Facebook, or call 706-278-5001 to find out how you can volunteer or participate in upcoming events.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful Establishes Endowment Fund

Pictured L-R: David Aft, president of the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia, meet with board members from Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful recently to establish an endowment fund. Also pictured are board members Clyde Taylor, Phillip Pfeifer, Liz Swafford, Anthony Cline, Aaron Marcelli, Patricia Edwards.

Dalton, GA – Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful established an endowment fund with the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia in February thanks to a matching grant challenge from an anonymous donor. Endowment fund distributions will provide long term support for the non-profit focused on ending litter, beautifying communities, and improving recycling.

“Establishing the endowment fund has allowed us to diversify our income sources ensuring that our mission continues regardless of changes in annual fundraising.” said Patricia Edwards, chairperson for the endowment fund committee. “We are thankful for all of the individuals that contributed towards the matching grant goal. Thanks to you we were able to meet the challenge. We are especially grateful to our anonymous benefactor for giving us this opportunity to guarantee that Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful programs continue long into the future.”

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful began in 1989 as the Dalton-Whitfield Clean and Beautiful Commission, and soon after became an official Keep America Beautiful affiliate, and member of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation. The organization is now an independent non-profit with the same mission - to engage local residents in creating a more vibrant community. Board members and volunteers are proud to be a part of a nation-wide effort advancing education and collective action to ensure that beauty is our lasting legacy starting from the local level.

Recent activities have included the launch of the new educational campaign “Love it, don’t trash it!” #LiveLitterFree, a refresh of the Adopt-a-Mile program, unveiling of a mural downtown, beautification mini-grants for schools, and the presentation of the Magic of Recycling magic show at seven elementary schools. Longtime community events include the annual Christmas Tree and Electronics Recycling Day, and the Conasauga River Watershed Cleanup.

Anyone interested in helping Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful grow their endowment is encouraged to send their donation to the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia, noting Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful.

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Contact: Liz Swafford, Executive Director

            Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful

(706) 226-6211

Lswafford@dwswa.org