Keep Virginia Beautiful (KVB) recently announced the grant winners for its annual “30 Grants in Thirty Days.”  askHRgreen.org was among the winners receiving funds this year.

Government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations around Virginia applied for grants for $500 to $1,000 describing how they plan to address Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Beautification in their communities. In addition, this year there were five $2,000 awards made to applicants that had extensive projects with a greater reach. KVB awarded askHRgreen one of the $2,000 grants for their Cigarette Litter Prevention project. 

Cigarette waste is recognized as the most frequently littered item, and askHRgreen plans to use the money awarded to purchase cigarette ash receptacles for seven partnering localities in Hampton Roads and conduct a public outreach and education campaign.  A project leader for each area will conduct a pre-scan of the area to measure cigarette litter that is on the ground at the proposed site. The cigarette litter receptacles will be installed and the project leader will conduct the public outreach and education campaign in the area and distribute portable ashtrays. Following completion, a post-scan of the area will be conducted to measure results.

The communities slated for the receptacles are:  Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, York County and Virginia Beach.