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B. Organization Capability (Continued)
<br />4. How does your program differ from similar ones provided in the community? How do the programs
<br />complement those offered by other agencies
<br />Keep Indian River Beautiful provides a free resource for environmental education, ongoing and one-time
<br />volunteer opportunities to improve our community, and recycling for local events hosted by many
<br />community partners. We partner with several businesses and non-profit organizations, including but not
<br />limited to: Rotaries, Women Societies, Environmental Learning Center, Vero Beach Museum, The Boys
<br />and Girls clubs, Pelican Island Preservation Society, Culture Council, Veterans of Indian River County,
<br />Habitat for Humanity, Natural Resource Board, Youth Guidance, Exchange Club, Airboat Association,
<br />Audubon, the School District, Solid Waste Disposal District, Senior Resource Center, Republic Services,
<br />Waste Management IR Board of Realtors, Main Street,Vero Beach, Sebastian Area and Indian River
<br />Chambers of Commerce and Oceanside Business Association and many more. These relationships
<br />expand the reach of our programs and provide access to supplies and volunteer opportunities to the
<br />partnering groups. Our relationships with supporting businesses helps to leverage the support of the
<br />county for additional support of our programs through sponsorships and in-kind donations that extend our
<br />resources and expand our programs beyond what is possible through government funding alone.
<br />A great benefit of being a Keep America Beautiful affiliate is the ability to customize our programs
<br />specifically to the needs of our community. Keep Indian River Beautiful, Inc. is at the forefront of recycling
<br />education and interactive programs in Indian River County. By combining education with hands-on
<br />activities and vice versa, we have a proven record to affect change and increase awareness in the
<br />residents reached.
<br />An example of this freedom is our nationally unique, Upcycle It! Store. The main objective of this program
<br />is to educate the public on the importance of our precious resource, our community landfill. While plenty
<br />of nonprofits generate income through thrift stores, our store is unique in the concept to create new items
<br />out of old or broken pieces. To better represent our goals and mission, we renamed the store after the
<br />practice of Upcycling - the new buzz word for turning seemingly useless junk into something better and
<br />more valuable than the original product. We and local artists turn wine bottles into hand painted wind
<br />chimes, hose clamps into one of a kind designer rings, or mason jars and candle sticks into redneck wine
<br />glasses. We provide unique teacher benefits that allow educators to stock their classroom for free with
<br />pens, pencils and craft supplies they can't get anywhere else, like piles of paper towel rolls or oatmeal
<br />containers. Recycling is great, but it requires energy and resources to collect, sort, and process unwanted
<br />items and waste. Upcycling is an even greener way to achieve waste reduction and reducing the amount
<br />processed by the landfill. We at Keep Indian River Beautiful know there is a public need for a place
<br />where people can come and be a part of the community's upcycling solution. In these days of the "Do It
<br />Yourselfers" and Pinterest, items donated to our store are perfect to repurpose into crafts, plant holders,
<br />modern art, etc. Keep Indian River Beautiful has coordinated Upcycle Workshops for youth and adults to
<br />create upcycled crafts and partner with local organizations for presentations on key environmental topics.
<br />We use this as an opportunity to teach the importance of the 4R's.
<br />Great American Cleanup takes place in communities from coast to coast. More than 3.8 million
<br />individuals this year are joining hands to produce more vibrant, beautiful and cleaner county beaches,
<br />parks, and roadways in what continues to be the nation's largest grassroots community improvement
<br />program. Keep Indian River Beautiful provides helps coordinate all manner of community improvement
<br />projects from habitat restoration, tree plantings, neighborhood cleanups and especially recycle collection
<br />events in partnership with Solid Waste.
<br />Keep Indian River Beautiful provides free items and educational material at outreach booths, free
<br />education presentations and free bins for recycling at local events. We also coordinate America Recycles
<br />Day events on or around November 15th in Indian River County.
<br />Indian River Beautiful received a grant from Coca-Cola for 5 outdoor recycling bins to place Downtown
<br />Vero Beach on 14th Street. Republic Services agreed to a 1 year in-kind donation and are still emptying
<br />and maintaining the bins for free. In 2017, KIRB received a grant from Zephyrhills for 25 permanent
<br />recycling containers to place in the City of Vero Beach beachside parks. These bins will be emptied and
<br />maintained by Valet Your Trash.
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