January 27, 2008

Charlotte, NC -- Keep Charlotte Beautiful (KCB) received the Keep America Beautiful (KAB) President’s Circle Award at the President’s Circle Award Luncheon in Washington, D.C., December 4. The award recognizes exemplary performance made by certified affiliates of the national nonprofit to reduce litter, minimize waste and beautify and improve their local communities.

In qualifying for a President’s Circle Award, KCB has met KAB’s standards of excellence by conducting an annual Litter Index, calculating the affiliate’s cost/benefit ratio and engaging volunteers to take greater responsibility for their community environment.

"Keep America Beautiful is committed to making a simple premise work in communities across the nation – engaging individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments," said KAB President & CEO Matthew McKenna. "One of the national organization’s most effective tools is the work of our grassroots network of affiliate organizations, which has an impact on millions of Americans each year. Our affiliates are providing real solutions to problems like litter, graffiti, illegal dumping and other community blights. By enabling people of all ages to participate in community improvement efforts, KCB is represented among the best in promoting the values Keep America Beautiful espouses nationally."

The KAB Litter Index is a tool used by KAB affiliates to measure litter from year to year, identify "hot spots," and track their progress in remedying the problem. The tool uses a four-point Likert-type ordinal scale (ranging from 1 – no litter to 4 – extremely littered). Each year, affiliates grade their communities during a drive-by examination of the same areas at the same time of the year. This provides an indication of the success of each community’s anti-littering education and other anti-littering programs. Charlotte's overall Litter Index score improved slightly for 2008 with an overall score is 1.63, compared to 1.85 in 2007. The Cost/Benefit Analysis measurement tool enables KAB affiliates to demonstrate their ability to leverage community resources by determining the dollar value returned to the community for every government dollar invested.

KCB is one of the nation’s oldest KAB affiliates. Founded in 1974, part of the KCB mission is to participate in programs that promote clean, safe, and beautiful communities and to forge partnerships with government, communities, and organizations with similar goals and objectives. Among its annual projects are the Great American Cleanup, the Neighborhood Recognition program and the Adopt a City Street Program.

KAB, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a network of nearly 1,000 affiliate and participating organizations, KAB forms public/private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. For additional information, visit www.kab.org.