(April 4, 2023) – Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is pleased to announce its newest affiliate which will be housed in and become a program of Scranton Tomorrow. Steve Ward, Scranton Tomorrow’s, Safe, Clean, Green and Design Project Manager will serve as the point person for the new affiliate.

Scranton Tomorrow completed the process of becoming an affiliate by conducting Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Community Assessment, which was done to gather data about the City of Scranton in six categories: residents’ attitude about litter and community image, existing litter prevention programs, leaders of community and beautification efforts, existing waste and recycling policies, past and current community revitalization efforts, and active volunteer groups. The results of the Community Assessment will be used to guide the development of a local plan to change attitudes and behaviors regarding litter, recycling, beautification and related issues.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and Scranton Tomorrow plan to combine resources and share programming, tools and resources that will increase the cleanup efforts and impact to the local community. The partnership also encourages participation beyond the Downtown neighborhood.

“We share the common goal of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Littering and illegal dumping affect the local community by inhibiting economic development and potentially attracting more crime. Scranton Tomorrow has the support of the local code enforcement officer and the local police department, critical relationships in the fight against litter,” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

In 2022, Scranton Tomorrow had over 40 project partners and 900 volunteers who contributed 1,655 hours of their time to help remove 10,500 pounds of trash from streets, alleyways and parks and planted 25,000 annuals to beautify the downtown area. Scranton Tomorrow conducts daily litter assessments and tracks litter amounts and issues to help identify problem areas and future cleanup locations.

“We are proud to be a Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful affiliate. This partnership makes it possible to continue and expand our efforts to keep Scranton beautiful, and to highlight the unique qualities that make our community great,” said Ward.

Over the next several years Scranton Tomorrow will focus on litter abatement, waste reduction, beautification, and connecting schools and volunteer groups to foster more environmental stewardship opportunities. To learn more about local initiatives planned by the affiliate, contact Steve Ward, Affiliate Coordinator, at 570.963.5901 or steve@scrantontomorrow.org.

“Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful congratulates and welcomes Scranton Tomorrow to our affiliate network. We are grateful that they and their supporters see the value in providing our programs, tools, and resources to local residents and businesses to help keep Scranton and the surrounding neighborhoods clean and beautiful. We’re looking forward to working together to enhance existing programs and welcome Scranton Tomorrow to our Affiliate Network.” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

For more information about Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s local affiliates, visit www.keeppabeautiful.org and choose Affiliate Network. To inquire about starting an affiliate, contact Kylie McCutcheon at kmccutcheon@keeppabeautiful.org or 724-836-4121 x114.

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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 155 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.

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