2017 IFEA/HAAS & WILKERSON PINNACLE AWARDS COMPETITION BEST VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP April 1, 2017 Background of Event Established in January 1976 as the City of McAllen’s Beautification Advisory Board, Keep McAllen Beautiful (KMB) carries the mission of developing and expanding public awareness to residents, employees, and visitors of McAllen on litter prevention, proper waste disposal, and the preservation of McAllen’s natural beauty. Keep McAllen Beautiful, a non-profit organization, operates under the direction of the City of McAllen Public Works Department, and maintains affiliation with Keep Texas Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful incorporating many of their programs, such as the Great American Cleanup and Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off. The event takes place during April’s celebration of Earth Day. The “Don’t Mess with Texas” Trash-Off campaign is a partnership between Keep Texas Beautiful, and the Texas Department of Transportation. It has become Texas’ signature cleanup event in conjunction with Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup, the largest one day community cleanup event in the United States. Through the Great American Cleanup, Keep McAllen Beautiful provides the volunteer opportunity of the year for students, business owners, visitors, and residents of not only McAllen, but the Rio Grande Valley. The Great American Cleanup is Keep McAllen Beautiful’s most successful event for volunteer participation turnout, welcoming volunteers of all ages, individually, in teams, with their family, representing their favorite business or organization, and ready to make a difference in the community during this major one day cleanup event. In 2017, Keep McAllen Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup was held at the City of McAllen Municipal Park, and was host to the 30 Year Anniversary Celebration of the Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off. Eight hundred volunteers, along with the Texas Department of Transportation, joined to help celebrate and collected 3.55 tons of debris; creating a cleaner, greener, more beautiful McAllen.
Purpose of Volunteer Program Keep McAllen Beautiful’s programs and events focus on the importance of beautification and environmental preservation. They are only made possible through the tremendous commitment of their volunteers. Volunteers bring much needed support through manpower, lots of energy and enthusiasm, and a giving heart that extends KMB’s mission of civic pride into the community. With Keep McAllen Beautiful’s team of only 17 active board members and 3 associate members, overseen by one program coordinator and an administrative clerk, carrying out weekly events and programs year-round can only be accomplished through this volunteer support. Volunteers are the key component in Keep McAllen Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup/Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off event that takes place every April. And it is through this event, that Keep McAllen Beautiful unites their largest volunteer group for one day, to care for the environment, and take pride in their community. Keep McAllen Beautiful’s strong belief in the spirit of volunteerism is exemplified through the Great American Clean-up, where this year’s volunteers truly made an impact for a cleaner and more beautiful McAllen.
Volunteer Participation
Anyone vested in the community is encouraged to be part of Keep McAllen Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup. Volunteers at the event represented individuals from all different backgrounds and age groups, coming together to be part of this community cleanup event individually or in teams as civic groups, schools, and businesses. In 2017, the Great American Cleanup participation of 800 volunteers included individual registrations and the following group representation: CIVIC . Girl Scout Troops #76, #90, #292, and #330 . Cub Scout Troops #260 and #321 . Boy Scout Troops #76 and #78 SCHOOLS . McAllen High School . Nikki Rowe HOSA Group . IB Lamar Academy . Wilson Elementary . STEM ECHS Thelma R. Salinas . Vanguard Rembrandt Secondary . PSJA Memorial HS . PSJA Southwest NHS . South Texas High School . IDEA McAllen . IDEA Pharr CP . IDEA Weslaco . University of Texas –Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Mother/Daughter Group . UTRGV Criminal Justice . VIDA BUSINESSES . Chipotle . Cambria Hotel and Suites . CRC . Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance . GE Aviation . HEB Grocers . IBC Bank . Macy’s Department Store . McAllen Boys & Girls Club . Sharyland Utilities . Target Stores #0824, #1490, #2224 . Hidalgo Co. Tobacco Prevention & Control Coalition . US Army Recruiting Center Duration of Program
For the last 19 years, volunteers have participated in KMB’s Great American Cleanup. Volunteers were able to pre-register themselves and/or their group online for the event at www.keepmcallenbeautiful.org, and also had the opportunity to register on site the day of the event. As volunteers arrived to register or sign- in, they received their map assignment indicating their designated cleanup area, a KMB T-Shirt, and cleanup supplies: vest, gloves, and trash bags. The Great American Cleanup officially began with a welcome announcement at 8 am, followed by a group picture to commemorate the event. Volunteers were then routed to the bus area for transportation to their assigned areas, although some volunteers chose to travel by personal vehicle or walking. Volunteers were rounded back to McAllen Municipal Park around 11:00 am to enjoy a hot dog lunch meal, listen to award announcements and for a chance to win raffle prizes. The Great American Cleanup event concluded at 12 pm.
Volunteer Demographics
This year’s Great American Cleanup was comprised of community volunteers young and old, individual adults and families, all female and all male groups, as well as co-ed teams, representing various schools, colleges, universities, civic organizations, and local businesses. The Tobacco Prevention & Control Coalition of Hidalgo County was awarded the Civic Group With Most Participation, UTRGV Mother/Daughter Group, the School With Most Participation, and the Target Stores #2224, #1490, and #0822 for the Business With Most Participation. Keep McAllen Beautiful welcomed all volunteers to the event ensuring that minors were accompanied by their parent/guardian and sporting proper cleanup attire. Apri1 1, 2017, was a great Saturday morning for individual and family volunteers to spend time together making a difference in the McAllen community.
Volunteer Participation
Minors - Male 18.5%
Minors - Female 30%
Male Adults 18.5%
Female Adults 33%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Participation %
Volunteer Job Description
THE CALL TO ACTION:
GET INVOLVED: VOLUNTEERS for the Great American Cleanup needed to provide an awesome job picking up litter in the McAllen Community from major streets, parks, hike and bike trails, and along the railroad tracks.
Job requirement for Litter Pick-up Extraordinaire: A Willingness to Serve.
Individuals with one or all the following traits were encouraged to volunteer at the Great American Cleanup.
Reasons to Volunteer: (1) Give a hand to your community (2) Meet new people (3) Have fun (4) Free lunch (5) Chance to win a raffle prize (6) Reduce stress (7) Strengthen your community (8) Beautify McAllen (9) Make a difference (10) Believe in sustainability
Recruitment Methods
Keep McAllen Beautiful utilized social media, their website www.keepmcallenbeautiful.org, Facebook page and Twitter @KeepMcAllenBeautiful, television interviews on MCN (the McAllen Cable Network), the Spanish Television Stations of Entravision, KTLM-Telemundo, XERV-Televisa, KVEO-Channel 23, a radio interview on 710 KURV-Talk Radio, The Monitor Newspaper, and word of mouth to enlist volunteers. Volunteers were recruited from schools, churches, civic groups, local colleges, and businesses in the surrounding communities and through GAC volunteer opportunities presented at school recycling presentations and tours scheduled at the City of McAllen Recycling Center. Volunteers were also recruited through a website www. volunteersouthtexas.org.
Communication Methods
Because of the successful volunteer turnout from previous years, Keep McAllen Beautiful’s promotion of the Great American Cleanup has spread significantly through word of mouth from past volunteers. GAC volunteers love to share their experience with others often coming back to serve, joined by their family members and friends. In addition, event flyers are distributed at community centers, city hall, electronically emailed to the McAllen Independent School District for reaching out to students and teacher volunteers, as well as forwarded to all individuals logged in KMB’s volunteer database. Event updates are posted on KMB’s website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Training Materials
Once pre-registered for the Great American Cleanup, volunteers received an email response with event information of what to expect and prepare for the event, as well as parking instructions and arrival time. On the morning of April 1st, volunteers filled out and signed a release of liability form and were provided a map of their cleanup destinations, along with cleanup materials that included a vest, pair of gloves, and a good supply of trash bags. Sunscreen and mosquito repellent were also available for their use.
Event Schedule Information
Event agenda for the Great American Cleanup allowed for volunteer arrival to the McAllen Municipal Park by 8 am for registration, and for obtaining their cleanup supplies. Volunteers posed for the ever popular group picture, followed by special cleanup instructions from Keep McAllen Beautiful and a Trash & Treasure Hunt Game announcement by Texas Department of Transportation staff. Then it was off to their designated cleanup areas by bus transport. Volunteers made their way back to Municipal Park by 11 am for a hot dog lunch and to listen to the winning names of group awards and the winning raffle prize ticket numbers.
GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP EVENT SCHEDULE OVERVIEW: . 8 am Volunteer Registration/Event Begins . 8:15am Group Picture . 8:30am Event Announcements . 9:00am - 11 am Cleanup Operations
. 11am Food and Refreshments/Prize Drawings . 12pm Cleanup Event Ends
Volunteer Perks / Benefits
In anticipation of the question always asked by individuals who are not sure of what to expect from the Great American Cleanup event, or maybe new to the volunteer experience: Why volunteer for GAC? Keep McAllen Beautiful elaborated the rewarding benefits of being a GAC volunteer through flyers posted, word of mouth, interviews conducted, and social media. The message was clear: CONNECT WITH THE COMMUNITY!
Free Keep McAllen Beautiful T-Shirt Free lunch: Hot Dogs, Chips, Cookie, and Drink Chance to win a raffle prize TXDOT Giveaways & Prizes
Appreciation / Recognition Methods/ Materials In addition to their free Keep McAllen Beautiful T-shirt souvenir, each volunteer of the Great American Cleanup was presented a Certificate of Participation for their volunteer support. Award plaques were issued to the SCHOOL, BUSINESS and CIVIC GROUP with the most volunteer participation in the event. This year’s winners were: UTRGV Mother/Daughter Group, the Target Stores #2224, #1490, and #0822, and the Tobacco Prevention & Control Coalition of Hidalgo County. A thank you note was personally handwritten on each lunch bag issued. Thank you for volunteering picture postings were placed on Keep McAllen Beautiful’s Facebook page and Twitter for viewing, sharing with friends, and commenting on the successful Great American Cleanup & Don’t Mess with Texas 2017 event.
Retention Methods/Materials Every year, contact information for new volunteer participants at the Great American Cleanup is added to the Keep McAllen Beautiful’s existing volunteer program database. The current listing includes 300 active volunteers and is updated monthly by the Keep McAllen Beautiful office staff. Additionally, KMB works with Volunteer South Texas to help recruit volunteers. Keep McAllen Beautiful also works closely with the McAllen Independent School District, partnering with elementary, middle and high schools to promote volunteering at the Great American Cleanup as a school event, club event, parent involvement event, or for extra credit on school assignments.
Description of Sponsor / Volunteer Involvement With Program and Benefits to Each SPONSORSHIPS IN-KIND: The Great American Cleanup in-kind sponsorships of 2017 received from local McAllen businesses totaled $12,154.78. These donors assisted in providing lunch, refreshments, as well a small token of appreciation for their participation in the event.
2017 Great American Cleanup - Inkind Sponsors Sponsor Good/Services Donation Mid Valley Ice (6) 40 lb Bags of Ice $ 24.00 Niagara Water (40) 32-Count Cases of Water $ 140.00 Starbucks Traveler Box $ 24.00 McAllen Sports (3) Award Plaques $ 135.00 Copy Zone 300 Certificates $ 85.53 Chipotle 1,000 Coupons $ 10,000.00 Coca-Cola (24) Cases of Fruit Punch/ (10) Cases of Diet Coke $ 1,368.00 Longhorn Steakhouse (8) $10.00 Coupons $ 80.00 Fuzzy Taco (2) $10.00 Coupons $ 20.00 Whataburger (50) $2.19 Coupons $ 109.50 CC's Sweets and Treats (25) $2.75 Coupons $ 68.75 Macy's (4) $25.00 Gift Cards $ 100.00 TOTAL $ 12,154.78
The GRAINGER Foundation – A $5,000.00 check was received from Grainger Foundation towards purchasing canopies, latex gloves, safety vests, and drawstring bags for distribution at GAC. Sponsorship funding enabled Keep McAllen Beautiful the ability to supply GAC volunteers with essential cleanup materials and in turn allowed businesses the opportunity to extend their own personal thank you to community volunteers for serving in keeping McAllen beautiful. SPONSORSHIP BENEFITS o Being part of one of the largest volunteer community events in the Rio Grande Valley and the State of Texas o Helping build a strong community awareness in the City of McAllen
Overall Revenue/Expense Budget of Program
KMB GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP BUDGET
ANNUAL EVENT BUDGET $5,000.00
REVENUE:
IN-KIND $12,000.00
GRAINGER SPONSORSHIP CHECK $5,000.00
TOTAL REVENUE: $17,000.00
TOTAL EVENT INCOME: $22,000.00
EXPENSES: $19,200.00 Keep McAllen Beautiful’s annual budget for the Great American Cleanup was $5,000.00. In order to produce a cleanup event of this magnitude, KMB reached out to the local business community for event sponsorships, collecting $12,000 in in-kind donations and a $5,000.00 check contribution from the Grainger Foundation. With Grainger’s sponsorship this year, KMB was able to support GAC resources working with a total event budget of $10,000.00. Major purchases at this year’s GAC included much needed canopies, safety vests and gloves, and a token of appreciation: a KMB drawstring bag for volunteers. Great American Cleanup Expenses for 2017 totaled $19,200.00.
Overall Effectiveness / Success of Program The success of KMB’s Great American Cleanup – Volunteer Program stemmed from the tremendous community support of Keep McAllen Beautiful’s mission: to develop and expand public awareness to residents, employees, and visitors of McAllen on litter prevention, proper waste disposal, and the preservation of McAllen’s natural beauty. Through this civic pride and care for the environment, individuals, schools, civic groups, and businesses continued their partnership with KMB making 2017 - 19 Years of community service by Great American Cleanup volunteers. The GAC volunteer experience generated a positive impact within the McAllen community, teaching volunteers to be more sustainable, and creating a huge difference within the environment for a cleaner, more beautiful McAllen. The Great American Cleanup of 2017 assembled 800 volunteers accepting the call for action cleanup. Their efforts resulted in the collection of 3.55 tons of litter and created a picturesque view of volunteers throughout the City of McAllen, sporting huge smiles, orange vests, gloves, trash bags filled with collected litter, and a heartfelt attitude to serve.
Measureable Results
2017 Great American Cleanup Results:
Number of Volunteers: 800 Number of Volunteer Hours: 800 x 4 hours (Length of Event) = 3200 Hours completed
Number of Volunteers in KMB Database: 300 Estimate of the Financial Value of Great American Cleanup Volunteers: 800 Volunteers X $25.15/hour X 4 hours (Length of Event) = $80,480.00 Litter Items Collected by GAC Volunteers: . Swimming Pool 5 lbs . Cardboard Boxes 6 lbs . Wood Debris 10 lbs . Car Parts 100 lbs . Boxes of Trash 140 lbs . Tires 288 lbs . Trash Bags 6,560 lbs TOTAL: 7,109 lbs or 3.55 TONS of Debris Supporting Question Changes implemented in the 2017 Great American Cleanup were comprised of the following:
(1) EVENT SET-UP at the south side of McAllen Municipal Park
(2) 30th Anniversary of Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off LOGO on GAC T-Shirt sleeve
(3) Accommodations for TXDOT STAFF to join GAC in celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Don’t Mess With Texas Campaign.
SUCCESS of the cleanup was evident by the increase in volunteer participation from 600 in GAC 2016, to 800 at GAC 2017. This demonstrated an increase of 33.3% in volunteer participation, for an outstanding Great American Cleanup 2017 event.
Supporting Materials
Great American Cleanup 2017 Flyer
Keep McAllen Beautiful Website – Online Volunteer Sign-Up Page
Great American Cleanup – Litter Cleanup Instructions
Keep McAllen Beautiful - Volunteer Release of Liability Form
Great American Cleanup Map Example
Great American Cleanup Video – USB Thumbdrive
Great American Cleanup T-Shirt Photo