Governor Larry Hogan Proclaims March 20 “Keep Maryland Beautiful Day”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Governor Larry Hogan Proclaims March 20 “Keep Maryland Beautiful Day”

State becomes Keep America Beautiful affiliate, joins Great American Cleanup

Baltimore, Md. (March 20, 2017) – Governor Larry Hogan today proclaimed March 20th “Keep Maryland Beautiful Day,” supporting Maryland’s new affiliation with Keep America Beautiful, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to volunteer-based community improvement and beautification. The governor’s proclamation creates the Keep Maryland Beautiful program, which will be a cooperative multi-agency partnership to reduce litter and change Maryland for the better.

“From Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore, Marylanders know we are lucky to live in the most beautiful state in the nation,” said Governor Hogan. “Today, on Keep Maryland Beautiful Day, we launch our affiliation with Keep America Beautiful to support clean and green improvements and ensure Maryland remains beautiful for generations to come.”

As a Keep America Beautiful state affiliate, Maryland will focus on neighborhood beautification statewide through increasing urban greening, citizen stewardship, community education, and litter removal activities. The program will also promote local workforce development through volunteer recruitment and jobs skills training.

One of the first Keep Maryland Beautiful activities is Clean Up & Green Up Maryland. This initiative will help local communities establish volunteer Clean Up & Green Up teams. The Hogan administration will celebrate this program at a community open space in the Waverly neighborhood of Baltimore City. Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Deputy Secretary Tony Reed will join with local Clean Up & Green Up Waverly volunteers to plant shrubs and enhance storm water management systems.

Clean Up & Green Up Maryland will also include a grant program, funded by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and administered by the Maryland Environmental Trust, to provide fiscal support for litter removal projects across Maryland. For more information on the grant program, visit http://dnr.maryland.gov/met/Pages/grant_programs.aspx.

“Everyone wants clean, vibrant communities to call home, and Keep Maryland Beautiful will help revitalize neighborhoods across Maryland,” said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Kenneth C. Holt. “Our agency is proud to provide grant assistance through Clean Up & Green Up Maryland to support local initiatives and volunteerism.”

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CONTACT: Sara Luell, Director of Communications, sara.luell@maryland.gov, 301-429-7803