LaredoBuzz.Com

70 Texas Communities Honored for their Exceptional Community Improvement Efforts

Courtesy Isabel Sosa,

LAREDO, TEXAS – Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB), a statewide grassroots environmental and community improvement non-profit organization, recently named Keep Laredo Beautiful a Gold Star Affiliate, a designation granted to 70 affiliates of KTB’s nearly 300 affiliates. Gold Star

In 2004, the organization introduced the concept of Gold Star recognition to reward those communities who sought to go above and beyond the established requirements. To remain in good standing with KTB, community affiliates must submit a report, pay dues, attend training and participate in a KTB-endorsed activity annually.

To achieve Gold Star status, affiliates must share information on their mission and goals, answer questions about their economic development and diversity and inclusion practices, or participate in the Beautify Texas Awards or Governor’s Community Achievement Awards programs, and provide a letter of support from their community. KTB will formally recognize Gold Star communities during its 54th Annual Conference being hosted virtually this week from June 29-July 1, 2021.

“Our affiliates are the backbone of our organization. We are proud to honor those going above and beyond to keep their communities clean and beautiful,” says Suzanne Kho, Executive Director of Keep Texas Beautiful. “Our Gold Star Affiliates are educating and engaging community members, actively recruiting and managing volunteers, hosting cleanup and beautification events throughout their community and so much more.”

In 2020 alone, KTB affiliates engaged 20,917 volunteers who contributed 37,857 hours to collect 1 million pounds of waste and recyclables from Texas roadways, trails, and waterways. Laredo successfully implemented programs to clean up litter, reduce waste, educate local citizens, and beautify and enhance the local community.

Keep Laredo Beautiful kept its lines of communication open to volunteers and maintained all important support to organizations and projects that align with the affiliate.

In 2020, beautification events include:

Father McNaboe Park Tree Planting
Protect Our River mural at Zacate Creek with Cultivarte
Cielito Lindo Park beautification in partnership with the City of Laredo Parks and Recreation
North Central Park Call for Artists/ public art installation project management
Pollution Prevention Mural program (an all-volunteer effort)
St. Augustine School raised garden beds project
Different is Beautiful + Thumper Project mural at North Central Park
A World of Wonder Mural at NCP north spillway with The Ghost
Partnership with I Love Laredo
Partnership with Laredo Sustainable
KLB Safe and Solo Campaign
Laredo Next Generation Rotary Veterans Yard Cleanup

Other initiatives:

TAMIU virtual volunteer crew
Individual in-office volunteer hours
On-line conferences and trainings

All the efforts above resulted in the following measurable numbers for 2020:

$43,193.00 value of volunteer time
1,738 volunteer hours
435 volunteers total
110 trees planted
59 tires collected
>13,000 pounds of mixed waste collected

“Considering that the community was in the midst of a difficult year due to the pandemic, and we all had to re-learn how to live and operate in a COVID-conscious manner, Keep Laredo Beautiful is very proud of its accomplishments. The amount of trash that was collected is equivalent to the weight of a medium sized delivery truck! That’s a lot of litter picked up by hand,” stated Blasita J. Lopez, Keep Laredo Beautiful. “Staying connected to and having volunteers answer the call during this pandemic year to beautify our city is truly something to be thankful for and we can’t say it enough, many thanks to you, Laredo, and all of our volunteers.”

Keep Laredo Beautiful was approved to have in-person events in March 2021, and affiliate activities continue to garner support and Laredoans are answering the call to volunteer.

recognition is the membership recognition highest status any community affiliate can achieve.