$13,000 in Grants Awarded to Love Your Community Teams for Litter Reduction Service Hours

Posted on: Dec 20th, 2023 | News and Announcements Press Releases featured news

MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. -- Twelve Love Your Community teams received grants ranging from $500 to $1,500 for their litter reduction work in Mobile County on Dec. 19, 2023.

“The Mobile County Commission is delighted to present these grants to Love Your Community teams who’ve worked hard to lessen litter in Mobile County. We look forward to the many beautification projects initiated by their time-banked service hours,” said Commissioner Connie Hudson, who spearheads Mobile County Commission’s Love Your Community effort.

Grants earned through time-banking volunteer activity must be used for beautification projects in public rights-of-way or common areas for recycling, community gardens, park projects, and other environmentally friendly project ideas. The December 2023 grants were presented to the following groups for time-banked service hours:

$1,500 grant (145 service hours)

Magazine Beautification team will use the funds for lawn equipment and tire removal fees for blighted property cleanup.
Three teams from Cottage Hill Christian Academy (Elementary, Middle, and the National Junior Honor Society) each earned $1,500 grants. These funds will purchase picnic tables, umbrellas, etc. for an outdoor classroom.

$1,000 grant (90 service hours)

Africatown Village Keepers will use the funds for a beautification project at Whitley Street and Papermill Road.
Africatown Pacers will use the funds for a butterfly garden on Susie Ansley Street.
Flo Claire Team 1 will use the funds for the beautification of the West and Government streets entrance to the Flo Claire neighborhood in the Leinkauf Historic District.
Midtown Pickers will use the funds to install a trash can at a WAVE bus stop, which the team will maintain.
Mobile Bay Firewood will use the funds for artistic fence screening.
Team Do Some Good will use their funds for a community garden off Dauphin Street.

$500 grant (50 service hours)

The LeRoy Raine team will use the funds for a brick memorial.
St. Ignatius Recycling Club will use the funds for recycling bins at the school.

The Love Your Community (LYC) program is funded by the Mobile County Commission, operated through a partnership with Keep Mobile Beautiful, and engaged with Alabama Coastal Heritage Trust and Clean Water Future. Funding for the program is provided in part by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA).

More than 150 teams are currently enrolled in the Love Your Community Time Bank, according to the program coordinator, Evelyn DeAngelo.

The program allows Love Your Community registered teams, which may be comprised of one to 50 or more members, to select a location(s) within Mobile County to monitor, organize, and schedule ongoing clean-up activities as determined by each team. Clean-up supplies including litter grabbers, T-shirts, vests, gloves, and disposable trash bags are provided to participating teams upon request.

Registered teams that choose to participate in the time-banking initiative deposit their volunteer hours by submitting the required information and photos, either through www.loveyourcommunity.com or by mail to the LYC Coordinator. Eligible activities for time banking include litter pick up and disposal, community clean-up efforts, volunteering at recycling centers, or hosting recycling events and beautification projects. Volunteer hours are held in the Love Your Community Time Bank and continue to accumulate until requirements allow deposits to be exchanged for grant funding.

For the LYC and time-banking program descriptions and information, team registration, and frequently asked questions visit www.LoveYourCommunity.com, call 251-444-7144, or email coordinator@loveyourcommunity.com.

Not all grant recipients or teams pictured below

MAGAZINE BEAUTIFICATION TEAM