Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Announces Recipients of 2025 Affiliate Volunteers, Stewards for Tomorrow, and Community Partner Awards
(January 26, 2026) Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful (KPB) recognizes individuals, government, organizations and businesses whose efforts support and strengthen the mission of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. The recipients were nominated by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Affiliates who carry out community improvement programs and events within the Affiliate’s service area.
"Across Pennsylvania, our affiliates, volunteers, and community partners continue to inspire us," said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. "Their dedication, collaboration, and passion for improving the places we call home have strengthened local revitalization efforts and advanced our mission in meaningful ways throughout 2025. Each one truly deserves to be celebrated."
The Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes volunteers for significant and positive impacts toward keeping local communities clean and beautiful. The 2025 volunteers recognized include:
Ken Duerig - Nominated by Allegheny CleanWays
Ken has been volunteering with Allegheny CleanWays on illegal dumpsite cleanups since 2021. Ken participates in land cleanups several times a week, stewards several storm drains as part of the GrateKeepers program, and removes litter from several miles of roadway in the north side area of Pittsburgh. Ken bikes and/or uses public transit to get to all the cleanups and has been known to bike from Ross Township to McKeesport just to participate in a cleanup.
Fawziyya Heart - Nominated by Keep Royal Gardens Beautiful
Fawziyya Heart is a Philadelphia Local Artist who dedicates four hours a week to supporting solo litter removal events in Royal Gardens, located in Morris Park. Every Monday and Wednesday she volunteers for two hours each day, Keeping Royal Gardens Clean and Beautiful.
Steve Hoffman - Nominated by Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling
Since Steve joined Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling in 2024 as the Monday afternoon volunteer, and adding Wednesdays in 2025, he has contributed hundreds of hours to keeping operations running smoothly. Whether sorting materials, guiding visitors, or stepping in where needed, Steve brings positivity, reliability, and an outstanding work ethic to the organization.
Robert Tupta - Nominated by Keep Fayette County Green
For two decades, Robert has been a driving force behind strengthening and expanding the township’s recycling initiatives. His leadership, creativity, and commitment have helped transform recycling from a peripheral concern into a central pillar of township policy and public engagement. Robert played a key role in implementing curbside recycling pickup, organizing special collection events, and expanding participation in the Fayette County countywide drop‑off program.
Jim Warihay - Nominated by Keep Chester County Beautiful
Jim, chairman of the Uwchlan Township Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC), plays a key role in the Heart of Uwchlan project. He manages four pollinator gardens in Baird Park, removes invasive plants, and maintains 100 newly planted trees. He also supports EAC events such as PA Native Species Day, promoting environmental stewardship. Jim leads the township’s Adopt‑a‑Highway cleanups, coordinating six cleanups in 2025, bringing the group’s total to more than a dozen cleanups and over 200 bags removed. He also volunteers regularly with Natural Lands on riparian buffer restoration and tree plantings.
The Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Stewards for Tomorrow Youth Award honors an outstanding community member, 18 or under, who has demonstrated commitment to keeping their community clean and beautiful.
Ayvind Wiegman - Nominated by Allegheny CleanWays
Ayvind began volunteering with Allegheny CleanWays in 2024 during a Tireless cleanup at Duck Hollow and has since become a regular at illegal dumpsite cleanups. He often arrives by bike and brings tremendous energy to every event, filling heavy cans, quickly returning for more, and keeping the crew motivated. His dedication, enthusiasm, and reliability make him a standout volunteer.
Grayson Anthony McCoy - Nominated by Keep Norristown Beautiful
This past year, Grayson supported Keep Norristown Beautiful by collecting more than 800 pounds of litter in over 30 cleanups of his Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful adopted streets, W. Freedley and W. Warren. He also assisted with the Make Your Own Rain Barrel Workshops, helping residents build 25 barrels to reduce stormwater runoff, and volunteered at National Night Out by running a fun ‘Fishing for Litter’ game for his peers.
The Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Community Partner Award honors an outstanding partnership with local government, community organization or business who enhance and are essential to local community programming. The 2025 partners recognized include:
Hidden River Credit Union - Nominated by Schuylkill Keep It Pretty (SKIP)
Since 2016, Hidden River Credit Union (HRCU) employees have held twice‑yearly cleanups around their Westwood Road branch in Pottsville, and this year they expanded their efforts by joining the Open Door Project’s “Community Pick Me Up” in Pine Grove. HRCU also donates time, resources, and expertise to local organizations, with staff serving on advisory boards of Schuylkill Connects and the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce. Even during SKIP’s inactive years, HRCU remained committed to keeping their community clean.
Jahaco - Nominated by Keep Chester County Beautiful
Keep Chester County Beautiful partnered with Jahaco, a local company that transforms plastic film into durable products like benches and recycling bins. Jahaco accepted and transported, at no cost, roughly 1,000 pounds of plastic film and corrugated signs collected through the 2nd Annual Campaign Sign Collection. The material is repurposed into long‑lasting, functional items, keeping hard‑to‑recycle plastics out of the waste stream and off roads, waterways, and other public spaces.
Riverlife - Nominated by Allegheny CleanWays
In 2025, Riverlife partnered with Allegheny CleanWays (ACW) through the new UpKeep initiative to keep Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle clean and beautiful. Riverlife helped promote ACW’s cleanups of the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio Rivers (where 6,202 pounds of trash was removed), aided in completing special projects and supported a community art collaboration. Throughout the season, ACW and Riverlife coordinated on debris hotspots, events, and public outreach, jointly promoting volunteer opportunities. This partnership demonstrated how nonprofits working together can make a greater impact, delivering visible, meaningful improvements to Pittsburgh’s rivers for residents and visitors alike.
The Borough of Hanover Public Works Department - Nominated by Main Street Hanover
The Borough of Hanover Public Works Department is an invaluable partner to Main Street Hanover, consistently enhancing the beauty and upkeep of downtown. From hanging Hometown Hero banners and installing holiday decorations to maintaining flower baskets and supporting cleanup events, their year‑round efforts greatly enrich the district’s welcoming atmosphere.
Visit Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s website for more information about the organization, awards, and county and municipal affiliates.
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About Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s vision is a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Since 1990, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful has worked with hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the state to pick up nearly 162 million pounds of trash from Pennsylvania's roadways, waterways, greenways, vacant lots, forestlands and other community spaces. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s core programming focuses on litter and illegal dump prevention, cleanup, community greening, and proper waste handling and sustainable practices. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful works with many partnering organizations on the state and grassroots level to accomplish our goal of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is the state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, Inc., the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. To learn more about Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, visit www.keeppabeautiful.org.
