Mill Creek Key Club Winner in ‘Great American Cleanup’

The Key Club was one of seven Gwinnett organizations honored for their work during the 2011 “Great American Clean-up.”

During the week of April 11 – 17, designed to make a difference in the Mill Creek community. The main volunteer activity was the April 16 event at during which members picked up litter and planted flowers.

During the two-month long “Great American Clean-up,” local groups and residents were encouraged to participate in a community improvement project such as tree planting, beautification, litter clean-up, dumpsite clean-ups, graffiti eradication, recycling and neighborhood clean-ups.

A total of seven cash prizes of $500 each were awarded. Entries were judged in seven categories and prizes were awarded based on the biggest transformation and impact on the community. In addition to the Mill Creek Key Club, other winners included the Gwinnett Tech Tree Rangers, the Tucker Woods Homeowner’s Association, Primerica, Trilogy Park Homeowner’s Association, Brookwood Park Subdivision and Gwinnett Station Apartments and the Pinckneyville Middle School Recycling Club.

According to Connie Wiggins of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, Gwinnett is on its way to becoming “America’s greenest, cleanest community.”

Wiggins described the results of this year’s clean-up as amazing and expressed her gratitude for the people and groups who participated in the event.

“Special thanks to Cathy Nichols and Pam Ledbetter for their leadership, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners and Gwinnett Chamber for their support, this year’s outstanding award sponsors: Precision Planning, Advanced Disposal, City of Norcross, The Brand Banking Company, Gwinnett Hospital System, Cisco Systems and Georgia Gwinnett College Foundation and to each of you for implementing your own acts of green and clean.’ Thanks so much for all that you do.” Wiggins said in a released statement.

Highlights of this year’s event according to Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful include:

• 201 Events were held in 60 days, a 41 percent increase over last year.
• 1,172 volunteers participated (855 participated last year).
• 22,166 people participated in efforts to make our community greener and cleaner.
• 147 community groups participated, well over the 40 that participated last year and more than this year’s goal of 100 participating groups.
• 9,104 people were educated (an increase over the 5,587 that were educated last year).
• 3,374 trees were planted (100 were planted last year).
• 1,565,550 pounds of material were recycled
• 146 miles of streets were cleaned.
• 5,000 pounds less litter was collected due to litter prevention education efforts.

For more information, call Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful at 770-822-5187 or email gwinnettcb@gwinnettcb.org.