Dive Brief:

• Keep America Beautiful is launching its 18th annual Great American Cleanup, a project run by over 600 Keep America Beautiful affiliates and other partner organizations. Lowe’s is a big partner that, through its employee volunteer program, will work with local affiliates on events in Los Angeles, East Point, the Atlanta, GA region, and Mesquite, TX. Lowe’s will award each of these participating cities $20,000.
• This year's theme, "Clean Your Block Party," centers around public spaces and also challenges participants to clean or beautify their own blocks.
• Keep America Beautiful's toolkit has event ideas, and participants can later share photos and anecdotes on social media using the tag #cleanYOURblock.

Dive Insight:

Last year, more than 5.4 million people came out for the Great American Cleanup. Over the past five years, the project’s financial returns are estimated at about $175 million to tens of thousands of communities across the country.

"Among the key values that drive the work of Keep America Beautiful is the idea that people and places are profoundly interconnected, and that thriving communities are rooted in individual responsibility and collective action," said Jennifer M. Jehn, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. "This year's Great American Cleanup will continue to deliver meaningful economic, environmental and social impact ... while our 'Clean Your Block Party' theme provides the inspiration and resources to help make …  the street on which you live a little more beautiful."

The organization continues to be involved in events beyond its flagship initiative; last year 1.5 million people across the country participated in Keep America Beautiful’s America Recycles Day, pledging to see more materials come into the stream.