Showing posts with label neighborhoods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neighborhoods. Show all posts
Monday, May 5, 2014
Live Real Life
I don't have a cell phone but do find it very distracting/rude when people continue to use their cell phones when I'm in the room. My kids mostly. How are you ever going to see what's there with you if your face is in a screen?
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Monday, September 9, 2013
What would you add to the new story?
Kindness, inclusion, happiness, gentle action. These are all things I'm acting on lately.
Friday, May 10, 2013
TEXAS vote for this bottle bill !
We need this. Have you cleaned a lake, a creek or a river lately? It's gross.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013
Those perfectly ordinary moments........
What a beautiful piece and so true. Love you Dorothy. Love you Kevin.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Turn the plastic "trash" into oil !!!!!!!
Put plastic back into the oil it came from.
Not surprised by this at all, just a case of Japanese ingenuity and perseverance. What a concept to have one in every home instead of a trash compactor! Better yet, find a way to stop packaging everything in plastic.
The audio is in Japanese but reading the subtitles explains everything. What a great discovery!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Let's Do It!
What a wonderful example of how we should be getting everything done. There are so many people who want to help. All we have to do is show them the issue and make a plan to make it happen. They'll do the rest.
Friday, January 7, 2011
The Economics of Happiness
This is so true. How do we find what we need locally? How do we convince our local stores to carry only local produce, goods and materials? What is our first step?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Get Out and VOTE!
In the October issue of Rolling Stone, Jann S. Wenner interviewed President Obama. In closing, the President said:
“It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in the midterm election. There may be complaints about us not having gotten certain things done, not fast enough, making certain legislative compromises. But right now, we’ve got a choice between a Republican Party that has moved to the right of George Bush and is looking to lock in the same policies that got us into these disasters in the first place, versus an administration that, with some admitted warts, that has been the most successful administration in a generation in moving progressive agendas forward.
The idea that we’ve got a lack of enthusiasm in the Democratic base, that people are sitting on their hands complaining, is just irresponsible.
Everybody out there has to be thinking about what’s at stake in this election and if they want to move forward over the next two years or six years or 10 years on key issues like climate change, key issues like how we restore a sense of equity and optimism to middle-class families who have seen their incomes decline by five percent over the last decade. If we want the kind of country that respects civil rights and civil liberties, we’d better fight in this election. And right now, we are getting outspent eight to one by these 527’s that the Roberts court says can spend the impunity without disclosing where their money’s coming from. In every single one of these congressional districts, you are seeing these independent organizations outspend political parties and the candidates by, as I said, factors of four to one, five to one, eight to one, 10 to one.
We have t get folks off the sidelines. People need to shake off this lethargy, people need to buck up. Bringing about change is hard – that’s what I said during the campaign. It has been hard, and we’ve got some lumps to show for it. But if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren’t serious in the first place.
If you’re serious, now’s exactly the time that people have to step up.”
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Volunteer to Make a Difference 1house at a time March 27, 2010
We need your help to retrofit a senior citizen’s home near Fair Park. We will be replacing plumbing under kitchen sink, a dishwasher, two window units and broken window glass. We will be caulking, weather-stripping, insulating and weatherizing. And we’ll be installing a new dryer vent, rain catchment system, low-flow showerheads and CFLs. There’s a job for every level of expertise.Go to www.1houseatatime.org and submit your volunteer waiver to register. We will need about 50 volunteers that day, so we are happy to have your company’s green team or church group.
If you want an opportunity to help yourself and low-income families live more environmentally sustainable, financially successful and satisfying lives. If you have a building skill that you’d like to use in community service. Or if you would like to find out how to make your home more comfortable, saving money on utility bills and have a smaller carbon footprint on the planet. A Nurtured World has a great opportunity for you - 1house at a time. Come out Saturday, March 27th from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm and help us make a big difference.
Working with low-income homeowners, housing assistance providers, and volunteers, 1house at a timeTM reduces home utility consumption through home weatherization; new energy and water efficient appliances and HVAC systems; efficient water fixtures; rain barrels; and energy saving devices such as programmable thermostats and compact fluorescent bulbs as well as solar power and other green technologies. They make extensive use of volunteers to not only perform the work during retrofits, but for training, coordination and follow-up, multiplying the program’s impact in the community.
Volunteers are educated about the financial benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy practices. Everyone goes away with practices they can apply to their own homes and businesses. In 2009 A Nurtured World documented $11,788 in savings, 4,438 KWhr of electricity conserved, 64,050 gallons of water conserved and 7.05 tons of carbon dioxide reduced for houses completed in 2007 and 2008.
For their Work Events, 1house at a timeTM leverages local service agencies that provide assistance to the elderly and low-income community and taking advantage of the many rebates and services offered by utility providers. The program also encourages building material suppliers to donate in-kind needed appliances and fixtures and organizations to ‘sponsor’ homes and have team-building volunteer events.
A Nurtured World is a non-profit agency and supports the Work Events by receiving donations, sponsorships and grant funding. If this vision is what your company or church would like to support, go to www.1houseatatime.org to make a tax deductible contribution.
To volunteer your time or skills, email sharon@1houseatatime.org and sign up for the next event or call 972.466.2121 with questions.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
October’s Yard of the Month is a Real Stress Reliever
After living in a number of places in Carrollton (where there are also probably beautiful yards left behind) the Cathey’s moved to their present home just three years ago. They were awarded Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s “Yard of the Month” after “refurbishing” their front and side lot for only one year!
David Cathey is the primary planner, selector and digger, but his wife Sandy and son also help. A year ago they were looking for a stress reliever and decided to beautify their yards in the process. David says he gets out there and digs and transplants and the time just flies. All his neighbors are glad he’s stressed out!
Doing research on the internet to find what he wanted to plant, their growing requirements and how large they usually get, David made a plan for each plants location. Sandy says they incorporated plants from her Father’s and other family members’ yards and each time she looks at the flourishing specimen she thinks of her loved one. They have worlds of flowers for the bees and butterflies, choosing plants that attract many species. Their corner lot is alive with color and insect activity, as well as an occasional vehicle slowing down to take a closer look.
David doesn’t want to give anyone the impression that what they’ve accomplished was easy. Taking up the sod to form the beds was a shovel-full by shovel-full process. It was labor intensive work but not so difficult that any homeowner couldn’t do it.
The Catheys have incorporated zinnias, marigolds, butterfly bush in a number of varieties, elephant ears, Rose of Sharon, rosemary, Texas Sage, dwarf crepe myrtle and a dozen other flowing plants they can’t name. Most of the plants are drought tolerant or Texas Natives. After all the work, now they just get to stand out there and water them, accepting compliments from neighbors even blocks away.
“The Catheys are examples of how one neighbor taking care of their property can have a ripple effect on down the block - with others picking up on their energy. We can all help our neighbors by providing transplants, advise or even elbow grease”, said Sharon Goddard, executive director of Keep Carrollton Beautiful.
If there is someone you feel deserves the “Yard of the Month” award, please call 972.466.2121. Don’t forget to beautify your own property by bringing all your recyclables to Texas Recycles Day on Saturday, November 15th. To find out what will be recycled, get a flier or volunteer, please go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org.
***END***
Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a catalyst and community liaison making Carrollton a cleaner and more beautiful place. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, dedicated to engage Carrollton to enhance our community environment.
Since 2004, we have held 49 public events utilizing 5,400 volunteers. Our programs funnel energy and money into community improvement in partnership with Carrollton’s public, private and civic groups. Our leadership is a volunteer Board who work in all aspects of the community.
Sharon is a third generation Carrolltonite who has spent the last five years creating community in Carrollton. She believes: “America is in a crisis. We're in a very Un-American jam. We are doing a very poor job educating all our children; the drop-out rate is very high -- with the weather changing in much of the world to flood and/or drought; the devastation of global warming is getting clearer -- the unemployment rate is raising the numbers of "working poor". All the change we need is in the average citizens' hands. Historically, citizen leadership is the only way anything in America has ever changed. Everyone needs to do their part at home and at work. It's up to all of us to be the best of America.”
David Cathey is the primary planner, selector and digger, but his wife Sandy and son also help. A year ago they were looking for a stress reliever and decided to beautify their yards in the process. David says he gets out there and digs and transplants and the time just flies. All his neighbors are glad he’s stressed out!
Doing research on the internet to find what he wanted to plant, their growing requirements and how large they usually get, David made a plan for each plants location. Sandy says they incorporated plants from her Father’s and other family members’ yards and each time she looks at the flourishing specimen she thinks of her loved one. They have worlds of flowers for the bees and butterflies, choosing plants that attract many species. Their corner lot is alive with color and insect activity, as well as an occasional vehicle slowing down to take a closer look.
David doesn’t want to give anyone the impression that what they’ve accomplished was easy. Taking up the sod to form the beds was a shovel-full by shovel-full process. It was labor intensive work but not so difficult that any homeowner couldn’t do it.
The Catheys have incorporated zinnias, marigolds, butterfly bush in a number of varieties, elephant ears, Rose of Sharon, rosemary, Texas Sage, dwarf crepe myrtle and a dozen other flowing plants they can’t name. Most of the plants are drought tolerant or Texas Natives. After all the work, now they just get to stand out there and water them, accepting compliments from neighbors even blocks away.
“The Catheys are examples of how one neighbor taking care of their property can have a ripple effect on down the block - with others picking up on their energy. We can all help our neighbors by providing transplants, advise or even elbow grease”, said Sharon Goddard, executive director of Keep Carrollton Beautiful.
If there is someone you feel deserves the “Yard of the Month” award, please call 972.466.2121. Don’t forget to beautify your own property by bringing all your recyclables to Texas Recycles Day on Saturday, November 15th. To find out what will be recycled, get a flier or volunteer, please go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org.
***END***
Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a catalyst and community liaison making Carrollton a cleaner and more beautiful place. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, dedicated to engage Carrollton to enhance our community environment.
Since 2004, we have held 49 public events utilizing 5,400 volunteers. Our programs funnel energy and money into community improvement in partnership with Carrollton’s public, private and civic groups. Our leadership is a volunteer Board who work in all aspects of the community.
Sharon is a third generation Carrolltonite who has spent the last five years creating community in Carrollton. She believes: “America is in a crisis. We're in a very Un-American jam. We are doing a very poor job educating all our children; the drop-out rate is very high -- with the weather changing in much of the world to flood and/or drought; the devastation of global warming is getting clearer -- the unemployment rate is raising the numbers of "working poor". All the change we need is in the average citizens' hands. Historically, citizen leadership is the only way anything in America has ever changed. Everyone needs to do their part at home and at work. It's up to all of us to be the best of America.”
Friday, September 12, 2008
Keep Carrollton Beautiful helps the City in a BIG Way
Keep Carrollton Beautiful is contributing to our community in a BIG way. At a recent City Council meeting, Mayor Ron Branson accepted two large illustrations of Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s support. The checks, made to represent the contributions of Keep Carrollton Beautiful to the community of Carrollton in the last 12 months, proved to be a very good way to demonstrate their assistance.
In the previous twelve months, Keep Carrollton Beautiful has provided 11,948 hours from 2,962 individual volunteers - recruited to make the community more environmentally conscious, more beautiful and more neighborly. In that same time period, they have also donated $52,657.99 worth of in-kind products and services - acquired to support community events, public environmental education and refurbishment of City facilities.
Since the budget was on the Council’s agenda, Sharon Goddard was on hand to present the checks to Mayor Branson. The checks symbolize a lot of hard work on the part of Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Board of Directors: Secretary Cindy Baxley, Amy Diaz, Vice-Chair Paul Duddleston, Chair Cathy Henesey, Special Events Doug Hinton, Brenda Lalonde and Treasurer Diane Taheri. The Board and the myriad of volunteers all have one goal in mind – to engage Carrollton to enhance our community environment. They are doing an amazing job!
To find out about all Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s programs and projects, go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org and click around. You will probably find something you want to plug-in to. If you’d like to help the schools, be sure and add your paper to be recycled to their green and yellow bins. Alll that paper doesn’t end up in the landfill and the schools get money for your efforts
Be sure and cleanout that back room or garage and get ready to bring your recyclables to Texas Recycles Day on November 15th in Newman Smith’s parking lot. They’ve added Personal Document Shredding that will benefit Mosiac, Inc. to their collection items. To get a list of what’s being accepted or to volunteer, go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org.
***END***
Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a catalyst and community liaison making Carrollton a cleaner and more beautiful place. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, dedicated to engage Carrollton to enhance our community environment.
Since 2004, we have held 48 public events utilizing 5,150 volunteers. Our programs funnel energy and money into community improvement in partnership with Carrollton’s public, private and civic groups. Our leadership is a volunteer Board who work in all aspects of the community.
In the previous twelve months, Keep Carrollton Beautiful has provided 11,948 hours from 2,962 individual volunteers - recruited to make the community more environmentally conscious, more beautiful and more neighborly. In that same time period, they have also donated $52,657.99 worth of in-kind products and services - acquired to support community events, public environmental education and refurbishment of City facilities.
Since the budget was on the Council’s agenda, Sharon Goddard was on hand to present the checks to Mayor Branson. The checks symbolize a lot of hard work on the part of Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Board of Directors: Secretary Cindy Baxley, Amy Diaz, Vice-Chair Paul Duddleston, Chair Cathy Henesey, Special Events Doug Hinton, Brenda Lalonde and Treasurer Diane Taheri. The Board and the myriad of volunteers all have one goal in mind – to engage Carrollton to enhance our community environment. They are doing an amazing job!
To find out about all Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s programs and projects, go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org and click around. You will probably find something you want to plug-in to. If you’d like to help the schools, be sure and add your paper to be recycled to their green and yellow bins. Alll that paper doesn’t end up in the landfill and the schools get money for your efforts
Be sure and cleanout that back room or garage and get ready to bring your recyclables to Texas Recycles Day on November 15th in Newman Smith’s parking lot. They’ve added Personal Document Shredding that will benefit Mosiac, Inc. to their collection items. To get a list of what’s being accepted or to volunteer, go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org.
***END***
Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a catalyst and community liaison making Carrollton a cleaner and more beautiful place. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, dedicated to engage Carrollton to enhance our community environment.
Since 2004, we have held 48 public events utilizing 5,150 volunteers. Our programs funnel energy and money into community improvement in partnership with Carrollton’s public, private and civic groups. Our leadership is a volunteer Board who work in all aspects of the community.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s August Yard of the Month
Retirement didn’t really fit Dewey Beck; so he made some serious progress on his yard before going back to “work”. Both Dewey and his wife, Juanita, give the credit to the other, but anyone can see that someone planned, designed, prepared and planted their new beds.
After living at their home since 1991, they decided that is was time to tear-out the old overgrown plantings original to the house and start over. Spending some time planning and researching which plants would do best in his environment, Mr. Beck selected plants that would reseed themselves. He also had to be careful to select some that could abide the shade in his front yard. Before he planted, he also spent time preparing the beds for the plants he selected.
In only seven months of retirement, Dewey created a lush, peaceful surrounding for his entire home by planted begonias, caladiums, day lilies and Cora Vinca. Of course he doesn’t take all the credit - saying that his wife is “the wind beneath my wings”. The result is cohesion of his property inviting the visitor to explore around every corner.
Even with the compost and mulch, some of the beds are requiring a lot of water with the temperature staying above 100 degrees for weeks. After they are established, they won’t require so much water because they are suited for their specific surroundings.
“It’s residents like the Becks that show everyone how they can maintain their yards and be a positive impact in their neighborhood” said Sharon Goddard, Exec. Dir. of Keep Carrollton Beautiful.
If you know someone who is an example for their neighbors, feel free to nominate them for Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Yard of the Month award. They will receive a sign in their yard for a month, a certificate and news release about their efforts. Call 972.466.2121 or email sharon@KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org with your nomination.
Be sure and cleanout that back room or garage and get ready to bring your recyclables to Texas Recycles Day on November 15th in Newman Smith’s parking lot. To volunteer, go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org and register.
***END***
Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a catalyst and community liaison making Carrollton a cleaner and more beautiful place. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, dedicated to empower Carrollton to enhance our community environment.
Since 2004, we have held 48 public events utilizing 5,150 volunteers. Our programs funnel energy and money into community improvement in partnership with Carrollton’s public, private and civic groups. Our leadership is a volunteer Board who work in all aspects of the community.
After living at their home since 1991, they decided that is was time to tear-out the old overgrown plantings original to the house and start over. Spending some time planning and researching which plants would do best in his environment, Mr. Beck selected plants that would reseed themselves. He also had to be careful to select some that could abide the shade in his front yard. Before he planted, he also spent time preparing the beds for the plants he selected.
In only seven months of retirement, Dewey created a lush, peaceful surrounding for his entire home by planted begonias, caladiums, day lilies and Cora Vinca. Of course he doesn’t take all the credit - saying that his wife is “the wind beneath my wings”. The result is cohesion of his property inviting the visitor to explore around every corner.
Even with the compost and mulch, some of the beds are requiring a lot of water with the temperature staying above 100 degrees for weeks. After they are established, they won’t require so much water because they are suited for their specific surroundings.
“It’s residents like the Becks that show everyone how they can maintain their yards and be a positive impact in their neighborhood” said Sharon Goddard, Exec. Dir. of Keep Carrollton Beautiful.
If you know someone who is an example for their neighbors, feel free to nominate them for Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Yard of the Month award. They will receive a sign in their yard for a month, a certificate and news release about their efforts. Call 972.466.2121 or email sharon@KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org with your nomination.
Be sure and cleanout that back room or garage and get ready to bring your recyclables to Texas Recycles Day on November 15th in Newman Smith’s parking lot. To volunteer, go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org and register.
***END***
Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a catalyst and community liaison making Carrollton a cleaner and more beautiful place. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, dedicated to empower Carrollton to enhance our community environment.
Since 2004, we have held 48 public events utilizing 5,150 volunteers. Our programs funnel energy and money into community improvement in partnership with Carrollton’s public, private and civic groups. Our leadership is a volunteer Board who work in all aspects of the community.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Idea Exchange Gave Neighborhoods Lots of Resources
On Saturday, at Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Idea Exchange, 36 neighbors came together from all over the city to brainstorm and discuss hundreds of ideas! All participants were involved, caring citizens exercising their personal power to be part of the solution in their neighborhood.
They noticed that all their neighborhoods had the same intention of being clean, beautiful and safe – just some were closer to the goal than others. There were those who were successful HOAs with bylaws and mandatory fees; others who did a lot but were voluntary neighborhood associations with not much money to work with; and still others who were deciding how to start a group or resurrect one.
All of them have in common our City ordinances and available City neighborhood assistance programs. There were ideas about how to apply for the grants and how to get more involved in the surveillance of their neighborhoods.
They found they had dozens of opportunities for help from Keep Carrollton Beautiful. Keep Carrollton Beautiful has made it possible for Hunter’s Creek HOA to award “Yard of the Month” with their own sign. A non-profit helping local teens, Team Me USA, is looking into adopting a “spot”. Because they are choosing a greenbelt to adopt, they will have more rustic signs than those seen around town for Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Adopt-A-Spot program.
Many of the groups are planning neighborhood cleanups for Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup on April 19th. They discovered that all they have to do is come get their free supplies and bring the trash back to Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s event to avoid landfill fees.
The attendees learned about Green Business presentations, school paper recycling programs, cell phone recycling and many other programs offered by Keep Carrollton Beautiful. You can find out about all of these programs addressing environmental issues around AIR, LAND, WATER and COMMUNITY at www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org.
Be sure to see the displays about Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s neighborhood programs and the Great American Cleanup at both libraries during March and April - so you too can become part of the solution.
***END***
They noticed that all their neighborhoods had the same intention of being clean, beautiful and safe – just some were closer to the goal than others. There were those who were successful HOAs with bylaws and mandatory fees; others who did a lot but were voluntary neighborhood associations with not much money to work with; and still others who were deciding how to start a group or resurrect one.
All of them have in common our City ordinances and available City neighborhood assistance programs. There were ideas about how to apply for the grants and how to get more involved in the surveillance of their neighborhoods.
They found they had dozens of opportunities for help from Keep Carrollton Beautiful. Keep Carrollton Beautiful has made it possible for Hunter’s Creek HOA to award “Yard of the Month” with their own sign. A non-profit helping local teens, Team Me USA, is looking into adopting a “spot”. Because they are choosing a greenbelt to adopt, they will have more rustic signs than those seen around town for Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Adopt-A-Spot program.
Many of the groups are planning neighborhood cleanups for Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup on April 19th. They discovered that all they have to do is come get their free supplies and bring the trash back to Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s event to avoid landfill fees.
The attendees learned about Green Business presentations, school paper recycling programs, cell phone recycling and many other programs offered by Keep Carrollton Beautiful. You can find out about all of these programs addressing environmental issues around AIR, LAND, WATER and COMMUNITY at www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org.
Be sure to see the displays about Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s neighborhood programs and the Great American Cleanup at both libraries during March and April - so you too can become part of the solution.
***END***
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Keep Carrollton Beautiful 2005
Keep Carrollton Beautiful – 2005
By FounderSharonGoddard
Keep Carrollton Beautiful started the year with a dedicated Board of Directors (Jeff Weaver our Board Chair, Mark Schallhorn Vice-Chair, Doug Tobe Treasurer/Secretary, Julie Poe and Mia Simmons) and a very frazzled Executive Director, Sharon Goddard. We had accomplished much in the last year, but it took a toll on all of us. We needed to learn how to be a board and function like one – amid all the personalities and we needed to figure out how to make it all happen without one person doing it all!
Our planet was also overwhelmed – by all the natural disasters and everyone pitching-in to help those in need a world away – making it more difficult to raise funds to sustain our local commitment. We met the challenge and exceeded everyone’s expectations while giving all our surplus supplies to Metrocrest Services for the tsunami victims.
A major accomplishment of the year was negotiating Adopt-A-Spot with the city manager’s office ‘ Leonard Martin and Beth Bormann. We would never have gotten on the same page without our silver tongued Jeff Weaver. Trinity Medical Center signed on as our first adoptee.
As we progressed through the year, we found that we had learned a great deal about promoting programs and giving successful events. In February, our Texas SmartScape classes (with Marina Giggleman, Marian Buchanan and Mia Simmons instructing) were very well received with standing room only because the City put it on their website. The Trashy Art Contest we held for the Girl Scouts included both Cross Timbers and Tejas Councils and was a big hit with the winners ‘ getting patches, ribbons and their names in the paper!
The relationships we’d begun last year really paid off as the older Girl Scouts came to earn leadership badges by helping to plan the Great American Cleanup 2005; and the Carrollton Evening Lions Club cooked almost 1000 hot dogs for it too. We had 655 volunteers cleaning 54 designated locations all over Carrollton, collecting 8690 pounds of litter and one live mouse! Albertsons generously gave us hot dogs, cookies and t-shirts to boot. Dr. Pepper, represented by Bill Kirkland of Carrollton, gave us all the drinks and t-shirts also. Trinity Waste Services was there with roll-offs and their mascot, Mobius. Amy Weaver (Jeff’s daughter) turned out to be a great mascot for us in her KCBee costume provided for us by Martha and Joe Grizzel (some great volunteers).
We hosted Intuit’s Earth Day River Cleanup for the second year and it went like clockwork on a beautiful spring day. Trinity River Expedition’s Charles Allen brought his boats and worked with us all day. We were pleased about only collecting 1800 pounds of litter from a much cleaner Elm Fork.
Two of our board members, Mia Simmons and Julie Poe resigned with too much on their plates and we were proud to have Matthew Marchant join us for a short while after he was defeated in the mayoral race.
To further our relationships with the City and our sponsors, we were a vendor with Fuji Film USA at the Elm Fork Nature Fest and made the City’s July 4th Celebration a litter-free event. The t-shirts that Wisdom Works donated for our great volunteers from Turner High School’s National Honor Society (lead by Michael Wu) were perfect to let the crowd know who we were.
For the first time, we participated in the regional Trinity River Trash Bash with Dallas Down River and with Carrollton Evening Lions Club cooking. We had promised volunteers lunch, canoes and life jackets and were surprised by 150 volunteers! With Dallas Down River’s expertise and boats and the enthusiasm of groups like our Board of Directors, Boy Scouts, Turner’s Honor Society, churches and individuals we cleaned 1500 pounds out of the Trinity on a very HOT day in August. With heat exhaustion and swearing never to do it again, Sharon’s brain went to work on how we could have younger volunteers with more stamina ‘ our Teen Advisory Board was born.
The Board overruled the ‘never again’ decision with Peggy Healey (our new board member who had just run for the school board and who home-schools her four children) stepping up to head next years Trash Bash. It was so hot no one wanted to eat, so we gave all the extra food and drinks to Metrocrest Services for Katrina evacuees.
August was a very pivotal time. We composed a letter trying to help the City and the City Council (Mayor Becky Miller has always been in our corner) see what value we bring to the community with our volunteers and programs. After some research, we discovered that environmental groups in other cities received — the number of households in their city, times $0.01, times 12 months, times the number of events they hosted. We plugged in Carrollton’s 43,253 households making $5,190.36 what other cities contribute for each environmental education event provided. The Council, the City Manager and City Lawyer were not swayed. At the City Council meeting, in one more attempt to get our Community Service Assistance Grant raised, Sharon stated that we had ‘amassed more than 8247 volunteer hours worth 93 thousand 2 hundred and 56 dollars for the economic development of Carrollton ‘ in just the last twelve months’. Everybody smiled and nodded, but they did not add to our Community Service Assistance Grant, leaving us to figure out how to host four specific public events on $5,000.00. If the City of Carrollton provided these events using their employees, it would cost them $102,811.95!
We celebrated our amazing women volunteers with a Ladies Luncheon at La Hacienda Ranch. We had a fun time and came up with some great ideas for fundraising and programs.
All year we worked with the Carrollton/Farmers Branch ISD (with Victor Melton) to establish a Green Team in each school that wanted to participate; encourage them to work on their school campuses for Clean Sweep for Schools; making a video for the Squirrel Brigade program with Turner’s Media Academy and filming Carrollton Elementary’s Green Team learning how to plant tree seeds and trees (Mark Schallhorn and Lela Kahn were our instructors). We established our Teen Advisory Board consisting of Michael Wu from Turner, Jessica Cravens at Smith, Minhaj Chowdhury from Ranchview and Angela Miguel at Hebron; with a representative from Creekview not far behind. Sharon also wrote several grants to revitalize the CFBISD Outdoor Learning Center planning for a fence around a ‘Wildflower Park’, a boardwalk out into the pond, a classroom pavillion and a director’s building with Ron Marrs of Wright Group Architects helping us with the design.
We acquired another wonderful board member, Andrew Harsch (he is in marketing). Andrew has already worked on a marketing plan for us (which we really could use!).
Texas Recycles Day was a big success with 7 recycling vendors and 87 volunteers (our Teen Advisory Board did a great job of inviting their schools) diverting 22,000 pounds of recyclables from the landfill. We unloaded more than 345 citizen vehicles!
In an attempt to give our sponsors a unique opportunity, we hosted Meeting with the Mayor. Mayor Becky Miller already writes a column for our newsletter and agreed to meet with and answer questions from business leaders who were our sponsors or were potential sponsors. It was a festive affair falling just before the Christmas rush with lots of good food from El Chico Caf’. Mayor Miller gave us a history of how the city had evolved and what the transit plans were for the future. Carrollton Evening Lions Club signed up as our official sponsor!
Sharon recruited or renewed 15 sponsorships (Ebby Halliday Realtors, Carrollton-Farmers Branch Rotary Club, Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., City of Carrollton, The Civic League, Babe’s Chicken Dinner House, Sam Pack’s Five Star Ford, Halliburton, Green Mountain Energy, Tom Thumb, Rhoton Funeral Home, Wright Group Architects, Trinity Medical Center, Sotherby Homes and Carrollton Evening Lions Club), with some thanks to Mayor Miller’s referrals and 28 business, family and individual members, raising $17,145.00 cash and $12,509.43 in-kind donations. Sharon wrote 4 grants and created newsletters for each season. We also continued our Yard of the Month award by giving it to the Khan family. Our Volunteer of the Season award for the fall went to Martha and Joe Grizzel.
We ended our year by following the advice of the State of Texas and setting a two-year term for our executive board members — meaning that we now have no officers until January. We have become part of the fabric of the community ‘ people are calling from out of nowhere asking all sorts of questions. They think we’re the City!!!
By FounderSharonGoddard
Keep Carrollton Beautiful started the year with a dedicated Board of Directors (Jeff Weaver our Board Chair, Mark Schallhorn Vice-Chair, Doug Tobe Treasurer/Secretary, Julie Poe and Mia Simmons) and a very frazzled Executive Director, Sharon Goddard. We had accomplished much in the last year, but it took a toll on all of us. We needed to learn how to be a board and function like one – amid all the personalities and we needed to figure out how to make it all happen without one person doing it all!
Our planet was also overwhelmed – by all the natural disasters and everyone pitching-in to help those in need a world away – making it more difficult to raise funds to sustain our local commitment. We met the challenge and exceeded everyone’s expectations while giving all our surplus supplies to Metrocrest Services for the tsunami victims.
A major accomplishment of the year was negotiating Adopt-A-Spot with the city manager’s office ‘ Leonard Martin and Beth Bormann. We would never have gotten on the same page without our silver tongued Jeff Weaver. Trinity Medical Center signed on as our first adoptee.
As we progressed through the year, we found that we had learned a great deal about promoting programs and giving successful events. In February, our Texas SmartScape classes (with Marina Giggleman, Marian Buchanan and Mia Simmons instructing) were very well received with standing room only because the City put it on their website. The Trashy Art Contest we held for the Girl Scouts included both Cross Timbers and Tejas Councils and was a big hit with the winners ‘ getting patches, ribbons and their names in the paper!
The relationships we’d begun last year really paid off as the older Girl Scouts came to earn leadership badges by helping to plan the Great American Cleanup 2005; and the Carrollton Evening Lions Club cooked almost 1000 hot dogs for it too. We had 655 volunteers cleaning 54 designated locations all over Carrollton, collecting 8690 pounds of litter and one live mouse! Albertsons generously gave us hot dogs, cookies and t-shirts to boot. Dr. Pepper, represented by Bill Kirkland of Carrollton, gave us all the drinks and t-shirts also. Trinity Waste Services was there with roll-offs and their mascot, Mobius. Amy Weaver (Jeff’s daughter) turned out to be a great mascot for us in her KCBee costume provided for us by Martha and Joe Grizzel (some great volunteers).
We hosted Intuit’s Earth Day River Cleanup for the second year and it went like clockwork on a beautiful spring day. Trinity River Expedition’s Charles Allen brought his boats and worked with us all day. We were pleased about only collecting 1800 pounds of litter from a much cleaner Elm Fork.
Two of our board members, Mia Simmons and Julie Poe resigned with too much on their plates and we were proud to have Matthew Marchant join us for a short while after he was defeated in the mayoral race.
To further our relationships with the City and our sponsors, we were a vendor with Fuji Film USA at the Elm Fork Nature Fest and made the City’s July 4th Celebration a litter-free event. The t-shirts that Wisdom Works donated for our great volunteers from Turner High School’s National Honor Society (lead by Michael Wu) were perfect to let the crowd know who we were.
For the first time, we participated in the regional Trinity River Trash Bash with Dallas Down River and with Carrollton Evening Lions Club cooking. We had promised volunteers lunch, canoes and life jackets and were surprised by 150 volunteers! With Dallas Down River’s expertise and boats and the enthusiasm of groups like our Board of Directors, Boy Scouts, Turner’s Honor Society, churches and individuals we cleaned 1500 pounds out of the Trinity on a very HOT day in August. With heat exhaustion and swearing never to do it again, Sharon’s brain went to work on how we could have younger volunteers with more stamina ‘ our Teen Advisory Board was born.
The Board overruled the ‘never again’ decision with Peggy Healey (our new board member who had just run for the school board and who home-schools her four children) stepping up to head next years Trash Bash. It was so hot no one wanted to eat, so we gave all the extra food and drinks to Metrocrest Services for Katrina evacuees.
August was a very pivotal time. We composed a letter trying to help the City and the City Council (Mayor Becky Miller has always been in our corner) see what value we bring to the community with our volunteers and programs. After some research, we discovered that environmental groups in other cities received — the number of households in their city, times $0.01, times 12 months, times the number of events they hosted. We plugged in Carrollton’s 43,253 households making $5,190.36 what other cities contribute for each environmental education event provided. The Council, the City Manager and City Lawyer were not swayed. At the City Council meeting, in one more attempt to get our Community Service Assistance Grant raised, Sharon stated that we had ‘amassed more than 8247 volunteer hours worth 93 thousand 2 hundred and 56 dollars for the economic development of Carrollton ‘ in just the last twelve months’. Everybody smiled and nodded, but they did not add to our Community Service Assistance Grant, leaving us to figure out how to host four specific public events on $5,000.00. If the City of Carrollton provided these events using their employees, it would cost them $102,811.95!
We celebrated our amazing women volunteers with a Ladies Luncheon at La Hacienda Ranch. We had a fun time and came up with some great ideas for fundraising and programs.
All year we worked with the Carrollton/Farmers Branch ISD (with Victor Melton) to establish a Green Team in each school that wanted to participate; encourage them to work on their school campuses for Clean Sweep for Schools; making a video for the Squirrel Brigade program with Turner’s Media Academy and filming Carrollton Elementary’s Green Team learning how to plant tree seeds and trees (Mark Schallhorn and Lela Kahn were our instructors). We established our Teen Advisory Board consisting of Michael Wu from Turner, Jessica Cravens at Smith, Minhaj Chowdhury from Ranchview and Angela Miguel at Hebron; with a representative from Creekview not far behind. Sharon also wrote several grants to revitalize the CFBISD Outdoor Learning Center planning for a fence around a ‘Wildflower Park’, a boardwalk out into the pond, a classroom pavillion and a director’s building with Ron Marrs of Wright Group Architects helping us with the design.
We acquired another wonderful board member, Andrew Harsch (he is in marketing). Andrew has already worked on a marketing plan for us (which we really could use!).
Texas Recycles Day was a big success with 7 recycling vendors and 87 volunteers (our Teen Advisory Board did a great job of inviting their schools) diverting 22,000 pounds of recyclables from the landfill. We unloaded more than 345 citizen vehicles!
In an attempt to give our sponsors a unique opportunity, we hosted Meeting with the Mayor. Mayor Becky Miller already writes a column for our newsletter and agreed to meet with and answer questions from business leaders who were our sponsors or were potential sponsors. It was a festive affair falling just before the Christmas rush with lots of good food from El Chico Caf’. Mayor Miller gave us a history of how the city had evolved and what the transit plans were for the future. Carrollton Evening Lions Club signed up as our official sponsor!
Sharon recruited or renewed 15 sponsorships (Ebby Halliday Realtors, Carrollton-Farmers Branch Rotary Club, Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., City of Carrollton, The Civic League, Babe’s Chicken Dinner House, Sam Pack’s Five Star Ford, Halliburton, Green Mountain Energy, Tom Thumb, Rhoton Funeral Home, Wright Group Architects, Trinity Medical Center, Sotherby Homes and Carrollton Evening Lions Club), with some thanks to Mayor Miller’s referrals and 28 business, family and individual members, raising $17,145.00 cash and $12,509.43 in-kind donations. Sharon wrote 4 grants and created newsletters for each season. We also continued our Yard of the Month award by giving it to the Khan family. Our Volunteer of the Season award for the fall went to Martha and Joe Grizzel.
We ended our year by following the advice of the State of Texas and setting a two-year term for our executive board members — meaning that we now have no officers until January. We have become part of the fabric of the community ‘ people are calling from out of nowhere asking all sorts of questions. They think we’re the City!!!
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