Utopia Recognized as Gold Star Affiliate by Keep Texas Beautiful
85 Texas Communities Honored by Statewide Nonprofit Organization
UTOPIA, TEXAS - Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB), a statewide grassroots environmental and community improvement non-profit organization, recently named Utopia a Gold Star Affiliate, a designation granted to 85 affiliates of KTB’s nearly 300 affiliates. Gold Star recognition is the membership recognition highest status any community affiliate can achieve.
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. 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 achieve this 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 Keep Texas Beautiful Awards or Governor’s Community Achievement Awards programs, and provide a letter of support from their community. KTB formally recognized Gold Star communities during its 52nd Annual Conference in Rockwall, which was held June 18-20, 2019.
“We are proud to honor our most active affiliates who have such a large impact on their communities,” says Suzanne Kho, Executive Director of Keep Texas Beautiful. “Our Gold Star Affiliates are educating and engaging the community, actively recruiting and managing volunteers, hosting beautification events throughout their community and so much more. They deserve this great honor!”
In 2018 alone, KTB affiliates and their local volunteers contributed 198,304 hours to collect more than 4.2 million pounds of waste and recyclables, including 167,689 pounds of electronics and 6,293 pounds of tires. Utopia successfully implemented programs to clean up litter, reduce and recycle waste, educate local citizens and beautify and enhance the local community.
Keep Utopia Beautiful (KUB) works primarily in the areas of solid waste management, beautification, litter prevention and cleanups, environmental education, and Dark Skies/Stars Over Utopia. KUB’s flagship program, Utopia Recycles, is primarily run by volunteers, and during 2018, 40+ volunteers gave 1,530 hours, served 4,039 customers, and shipped 43.57 tons of recyclable commodities. In the area of beautification, KUB maintained five landscape installations on TxDOT right-of-way and 63 Maple trees along 4 miles of FM187 ROW. During the Great Utopia Cleanup held each April in conjunction with the Great American Cleanup, 55 volunteers worked 146 hours to clean up and remove 34,320 pounds of litter, debris, bulky waste and trash from the community, and a total of 67.4 miles of highway were cleaned throughout the year. KUB Chair John Heideman said, “Our volunteers are the key to the success of Keep Utopia Beautiful. We had 2,050 hours of donated labor in 2018 valued at $50,512, and KUB’s cost benefit ratio is $18.57—for every $1 spent, $18.57 of value is returned to the community. Our citizens and volunteers truly deserve this recognition, and KUB is proud to be recognized by Keep Texas Beautiful for our efforts.”
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About Keep Utopia Beautiful
Keep Utopia Beautiful (KUB) is a 501(c)3 non-profit cooperation which serves the unincorporated community of Utopia on the Sabinal River in far northeastern Uvalde County and other small towns and rural areas in Uvalde, Real, Medina, and Bandera Counties. For more information on programs and events, visit www.keeputopiabeautiful.org or like us on Facebook.
Keep Texas Beautiful
Keep Texas Beautiful is a network of dedicated Texans working together to make our state the best place to live, work and play. We equip local partners and affiliates with the tools they need to build vibrant, engaged communities. Founded in 1967, Keep Texas Beautiful has over 50 years of experience deploying resources for local clean-up, recycling, and youth engagement efforts. Everything we do is focused on mobilizing volunteers to take action across the state. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, we lead nearly 300 affiliates and reach 19 million Texans annually. We are proudly based in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit www.ktb.org, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @keeptxbeautiful.
85 Texas Communities Honored by Statewide Nonprofit Organization
UTOPIA, TEXAS - Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB), a statewide grassroots environmental and community improvement non-profit organization, recently named Utopia a Gold Star Affiliate, a designation granted to 85 affiliates of KTB’s nearly 300 affiliates. Gold Star recognition is the membership recognition highest status any community affiliate can achieve.
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. 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 achieve this 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 Keep Texas Beautiful Awards or Governor’s Community Achievement Awards programs, and provide a letter of support from their community. KTB formally recognized Gold Star communities during its 52nd Annual Conference in Rockwall, which was held June 18-20, 2019.
“We are proud to honor our most active affiliates who have such a large impact on their communities,” says Suzanne Kho, Executive Director of Keep Texas Beautiful. “Our Gold Star Affiliates are educating and engaging the community, actively recruiting and managing volunteers, hosting beautification events throughout their community and so much more. They deserve this great honor!”
In 2018 alone, KTB affiliates and their local volunteers contributed 198,304 hours to collect more than 4.2 million pounds of waste and recyclables, including 167,689 pounds of electronics and 6,293 pounds of tires. Utopia successfully implemented programs to clean up litter, reduce and recycle waste, educate local citizens and beautify and enhance the local community.
Keep Utopia Beautiful (KUB) works primarily in the areas of solid waste management, beautification, litter prevention and cleanups, environmental education, and Dark Skies/Stars Over Utopia. KUB’s flagship program, Utopia Recycles, is primarily run by volunteers, and during 2018, 40+ volunteers gave 1,530 hours, served 4,039 customers, and shipped 43.57 tons of recyclable commodities. In the area of beautification, KUB maintained five landscape installations on TxDOT right-of-way and 63 Maple trees along 4 miles of FM187 ROW. During the Great Utopia Cleanup held each April in conjunction with the Great American Cleanup, 55 volunteers worked 146 hours to clean up and remove 34,320 pounds of litter, debris, bulky waste and trash from the community, and a total of 67.4 miles of highway were cleaned throughout the year. KUB Chair John Heideman said, “Our volunteers are the key to the success of Keep Utopia Beautiful. We had 2,050 hours of donated labor in 2018 valued at $50,512, and KUB’s cost benefit ratio is $18.57—for every $1 spent, $18.57 of value is returned to the community. Our citizens and volunteers truly deserve this recognition, and KUB is proud to be recognized by Keep Texas Beautiful for our efforts.”
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About Keep Utopia Beautiful
Keep Utopia Beautiful (KUB) is a 501(c)3 non-profit cooperation which serves the unincorporated community of Utopia on the Sabinal River in far northeastern Uvalde County and other small towns and rural areas in Uvalde, Real, Medina, and Bandera Counties. For more information on programs and events, visit www.keeputopiabeautiful.org or like us on Facebook.
Keep Texas Beautiful
Keep Texas Beautiful is a network of dedicated Texans working together to make our state the best place to live, work and play. We equip local partners and affiliates with the tools they need to build vibrant, engaged communities. Founded in 1967, Keep Texas Beautiful has over 50 years of experience deploying resources for local clean-up, recycling, and youth engagement efforts. Everything we do is focused on mobilizing volunteers to take action across the state. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, we lead nearly 300 affiliates and reach 19 million Texans annually. We are proudly based in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit www.ktb.org, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @keeptxbeautiful.