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Keep Indian River Beautiful received the 2017 Green Construction Award from the Indian River Chamber
<br />Industry Awards. We have received the President's Circle Award from Keep America Beautiful for more
<br />than twelve years in a row. Keep Indian River Beautiful received the' Keep America Beautiful Affiliate
<br />Excellence Award for 2016 and repeated in 2017.
<br />3. Briefly list any certifications and/or accreditations obtained by your agency.
<br />Keep Indian River Beautiful is a member of and in Good Standing with Keep America Beautiful and Keep
<br />Florida Beautiful. Our director is a member and Secretary of the Keep America Beautiful Affiliates of
<br />Florida and serves on the Affiliate Council for KFB. Our community participation includes memberships
<br />with Sebastian and Indian River Chambers of Commerce, Rotary Club, Association of Fundraising
<br />Professionals, the Cultural Council and Indian River County Community Foundation. Our Executive
<br />Director has a Bachelor's of Science in Environmental Science and 15 years of experience working for
<br />Keep America Beautiful affiliates and developing/maintaining environmental programs. She is a Certified
<br />Tree Tender, a Certified Community Environment Professional, a Certified Marine Educator with a permit
<br />to collect specimens from aquatic habitat, as well as a past member and award winner of the Treasure
<br />Coast Association of Environmental Professionals. Keep Indian River Beautiful is also a member of the
<br />Alliance for Community Trees.
<br />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 resource for environmental education, ongoing and one-time
<br />volunteer opportunities to improve our community, and recycling opportunities that would not otherwise
<br />be available. We partner with several businesses and non-profit organizations, including but not limited to:
<br />Rotaries, Women Societies, Environmental Learning Center, Vero Beach Museum, The Boys and Girls
<br />clubs, Pelican Island Preservation Society, Culture Council, Veterans of Indian River County, Habitat for
<br />Humanity, Natural Resource Board, Youth Guidance, Exchange Club, Airboat Association, Audubon, the
<br />School District, Solid Waste Disposal District, Senior Resource Center, Republic Services, Waste
<br />Management IR Board of Realtors, Main Street,Vero Beach, Sebastian Area and Indian River Chambers
<br />of Commerce and Oceanside Business Association and many more. These relationships expand the
<br />reach of our programs and provide access to supplies and volunteer opportunities to the partnering
<br />groups. Our relationships with supporting businesses helps to leverage the support of the county for
<br />additional support of our programs through sponsorships and in-kind donations that extend our resources
<br />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.
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