Keep Houston Beautiful Annual Report

2016

A Message from the Chairman

Lori Carper

CIPS, CMM, CMP

2015 TAR International Committee Liaison

Director of Meetings and the International Program

Houston Association of REALTORS

I was proud to be appointed as a commissioner to the Houston Clean City Commission dba Keep Houston

Beautiful (KHB) in August 2013 by then Mayor Annise Parker. Which led to me becoming a member of the

executive committee in early 2015, and the chair on July 1 of that same year. And with that honor, I feel a certain

amount of responsibility to let Houstonians know what Keep Houston Beautiful is all about and how they can

get involved in making Houston a cleaner and greener city.

First, a little background information on KHB. The nonprofit derives some funds from the City of Houston’s

annual budget through the Department of Neighborhoods. KHB also applies for grants and other funding and

was recently awarded a prestigious Governor’s Community Achievement Award (GCAA) which ten Texas

communities with the best grassroots environmental programs in the state receive each year. KHB received a

$310,000 prize from Keep Texas Beautiful, in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation

(TXDOT).The funds are earmarked for a landscape enhancement project along South Main in front of the NRG

Stadium.

Other partners integral to KHB’s success include City Council Members, Houston Parks and Recreation

Department, Houston Police Department, Mayor’s Citizens Assistance Office, Public Works and Engineering,

Solid Waste Management, and the Planning and Development Department.

The main focus for KHB include: Litter reduction, beautification, recycling, education and recognition. In

regards to recognition each year KHB celebrates the efforts made by individuals, businesses, civic organizations,

government agencies and schools that have volunteered to improve Houston’s landscape through

environmental and beautification projects at the Mayor’s Proud Partners Luncheon.

You may not realize that many organizations are involved in hundreds of cleanup projects each year and are

able to borrow much of the equipment needed through the Keep Houston Beautiful Tool Warehouse. In 2016

KHB loaned tools to support 332 cleanups and beautification projects throughout the city, averaging 6.4 projects

per weekend.

This is a great cause for you as a volunteer or your organization to get involved with to make Houston a cleaner

and healthier city for all to enjoy. On the KHB website, www.houstonbeautiful.org, there is a volunteer signup

sheet, a complete handbook on how to organize a cleanup project and a form to fill out if you want to borrow

tools from the KHB Tool Warehouse. Please join me in working to further develop community partnerships so

Keep Houston Beautiful can make an even bigger impact on a city-wide basis.

Mobilized 8,826 volunteers, who contributed

over 35,304 hours Removed more than

163,040 pounds of trash and

debris from Houston neighborhoods

and public spaces

Cleaned

and beautified

46 parks Planted over 350 flowers and plants and

493 oxygen-producing

trees

332 Neighborhood

Cleanups

Mural made by Anat Ronen

2016 Impact Report

Cleared 91 illegal dump

sites, 119 vacant lots, and

159 ditches

Disposed of

over

368 discarded

tires

Mowed 812

overgrown

vacant lots

35 community

flower beds

Houston Clean City Commission, Inc. d/b/a Keep Houston Beautiful

Organization

Houston Clean City commission, Inc. d/b/a Keep Houston Beautiful is a Texas non-profit public

education and community improvement organization that began in 1979 with the goal of beautifying

Houston and inspiring in citizens a lasting culture of pride, service, and environmental awareness.

Oversight is provided by the Houston Clean City Commission which includes council district and at-

large representatives and mayoral appointees. Appointments to the commission are confirmed by City

Council.

Mission

Keep Houston Beautiful (KHB) mission is to foster awareness of the important role citizens can play in

preserving Houston’s natural beauty and visual elements. As the city’s leading organization in

beautification, litter reduction, and recycling education, KHB is working to make Houston one of the

cleanest and most beautiful metropolitan cities in America.

About Keep America Beautiful

At Keep America Beautiful, we want to ensure that beauty is our lasting signature. A leading national

nonprofit, Keep America Beautiful inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve

and beautify their community environment. We envision a country where every community is a clean,

green, and beautiful place to live. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 600

community-based Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the support of

corporate partners, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals.

Keep Texas Beautiful is a state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, and as an urban city affiliate Keep

Houston Beautiful is a member of both organizations.

Cleanup and Beautification Statistics

For 37 years, Keep Houston Beautiful has educated

and empowered all segments of the community. Civic

groups have been the driving force behind KHB’s

neighborhood services. In 2015-2016, 62% of our

services were delivered to community organizations.

Followed by churches with a robust 23%. The

remaining 15% was received by the City of Houston,

schools and companies.

Tool Warehouse

The KHB Tool Warehouse is the showplace of its effort to foster joint agency

partnerships, and leverage local resources to support beautification efforts

throughout Houston. A lending library of tools is offered to the public,

including various hand and power implements and equipment needed to

clean up litter, build nature play gardens, and plant trees and flower beds.

These tools are a critical part of the success of many neighborhood

improvement projects across the city.

Neighborhood Mow Down Program

The City of Houston Department of Neighborhoods Mow Down

Program began as a pilot program in October 2013 to help tackle the

problem of overgrown, abandoned lots in Houston. In partnership

with Keep Houston Beautiful the program supports civic groups and

nonprofit organizations to maintain abandoned lots in their

neighborhoods and help eliminate eyesores and public safety

hazards. The program offers community groups a modest fee for

mowing City-approved lots. Keep Houston Beautiful provides

participating groups with access to tools and supplies for the projects.

Silver Eagle Distributors, L.P. employees

volunteering at Willow Waterhole Park

Community Events

All year long, Keep Houston Beautiful build strong relationships with different organizations to make

Houston a more beautiful city. This year was not an exception, and many projects had an amazing

impact on the community.

Bud Light Gives to Houston a Willow Waterhole Park

Over 100 volunteers showed up on October 17, 2015 at the Willow Waterhole Park and donated their

valuable time and energy to assist with projects ranging from laying gravel to planting flowers. Keep

Houston Beautiful is really thankful to our important partners Bud Light for underwriting the event,

Willow Waterhole volunteers for support in staging and managing the site logistics and Scotts Miracle-

Gro for donating Scotts’ products to the KHB warehouse.

Lyerly Senior Center Beautification

On a sunny October day in 2015, six employees from Liberty International Underwriters (LIU) and

three volunteers from KHB met at the Golden Age Hobby House on Winbern Street and were

welcomed by Ms. Winnie, the director of the center. She introduced the nine volunteers to the

neighbors who frequent the center. The volunteer team assembled one patio table, six patio chairs and

four porch rocking chairs. The volunteers also refreshed the front yard planting bed with new flowers

and kitchen herbs, and added some mulch around the trees at the Center’s entrance to the delight of

the community.

Overall, this activity resulted in:

20 cubic yards of mulch moved,

50 trees pruned,

4 street blocks de-littered,

60 bags of trash collected,

1 dumpster load of debris,

1 mile of nature trail rehabbed,

2 flowerbeds created,

133 plants planted

35 trees planted.

Left to right: Keep Houston Beautiful Chairman Lori Carper, Council Member

Robert Gallegos, Keep Houston Beautiful Program Manager Audrey Laroche

MLK Day 2016

On Saturday, January 23 the Student Conservation Association,

Houston Parks and Recreation, North Shore Community

Fellowship of Faith Church and Keep Houston Beautiful worked

collectively to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr Day through

service while beautifying Herman Brown Park. The Student

Conservation Association orchestrated the 2016 event and Keep

Houston Beautiful was happy to assist with volunteers and

supplies. Some accomplishments at this event include: installed

six park benches, five interpretive / educational signs, two blue

bird houses and one trash can.

Arbor Day 2016

January 26, 2016 was a beautiful day at Blackhawk Park as Mayor Sylvester Turner, the Houston Parks

and Recreation Department and hundreds of volunteers from across the city gathered to be a part of

Houston's Official Arbor Day Celebration. Volunteers planted a total of 3,330 trees. The day also

marked the City's 30th Anniversary as a National Arbor Day Foundation Tree City USA.

Final Four Day of Service at the Blodgett Urban Garden

On March 5, 2016, KHB—with the help of 105 volunteers— worked

collectively to beautify a popular running trail near the Texas Southern

University campus and revitalize the Blodgett Urban Garden.

The Final Four basketball tournament was hosted by Houston this year.

Within the week of festivities, one day was dedicated towards servicing

and beautifying the city.

Volunteers from the Final Four, Wheeler Avenue Boy Scout Troop 242,

Coca-Cola, Texas Southern University, and the City of Houston Waste

Management Department worked very hard to accomplish the day’s

success.

During this project eight gardens were planted, 10 bags of trash were

collected and 15 bags of material were recycled. Columbia Tap Trail Tree

Planting also helped by planting 30 trees!

Produce grown in these gardens will be donated to Shape Community Center, Wesley Foundation,

Pilgrim Community Center and Texas Southern University student organizations.

Volunteer from TSU working at

the Blodgett Urban Garden

Keep Houston Beautiful Day 2016

Over 917 volunteers selflessly gave their time to

improve 17 locations around Houston!

On April 9, thousands of volunteers collected over 990

trash bags full of litter, resulting in approximately

19,880 pounds of trash being removed from city

streets. The volunteer groups were also able to mow

11 lots through-out the area. These newly mowed lots

and cleaner streets vastly improved Houston’s curb

appeal!

Many thanks to all the volunteers who came out to make this day possible. The success of Keep

Houston Beautiful Day and the continuous beautification of the city would not be possible without the

help of each and every one of our valued volunteers.

Also, we wanted to give a huge thank-you to our sponsors: City of Houston, Coca-Cola, Waste

Connections Inc., H.E.B, Republic Services Inc., Moody Rambin, Waste Management, Shell and Sprint

Waste Services for their continuous support and generous donations that play a key role in Keep

Houston Beautiful’s success.

HHA Allen Parkway resident and

Keep Houston Beautiful Commissioner

Miranda Maldonado

Keep Houston Beautiful Commissioner

Joyce Aikens at Westbury Park

Volunteers installing a water cistern

at Japhet Creek

Latter-Day-Saint volunteers working in the

Bellerive garden

Bellerive Vegetable Garden

Keep Houston Beautiful and the Houston Housing Authority gathered 61 volunteers on April 16 to

help clean the garden area at the Bellerive senior living apartment complex. Many of the senior

residents came out to help. They suggested possible locations for their gardens and had ideas for

various new additions to the area. Some even joined in the work as they planted their own seeds and

tended to the garden.

The residents were thrilled to have their garden back in action and thanked the volunteers with gifts

of fruits and vegetables.

A few accomplishments at this project site include:

50 bags of mulch used

70 bags of soil used

1,500 pounds of organic fertilizer used

10 gardens planted

86 bags of trash collected

Left to right: Keep Houston Beautiful Commissioner

Susan Cita, Keep Houston Beautiful Program Manager

Audrey Laroche, Bellerive residents

Residents of the Bellerive Senior Living center

Scotts Miracle-Gro employees,

Keep Houston Beautiful Commissioner

Susan Cita,

parents, and school’s staff volunteering at

Gabriela Mistral Center for Early Childhood

From left to right : Keep Houston Beautiful Chairman Lori

Carper, John L. Nau, III of Silver Eagle Distributors, L.P., Mayor

Annise Parker, and Mrs. Nau

Gabriela Mistral Central Center for Early Childhood

More than 40 volunteers, both young and old,

worked together to transform the playgrounds at

the Gabriella Mistral Center for Early Childhood.

The Scott’s Miracle-Gro Company was gracious

enough to donate $5,000 and in-kind $2, 500 worth

of Scott’s products to help this beautification

project.

With new additions like the music wall and

meteorology station, the students are now able to

have a fun and interactive learning experience. The

children were so excited to see their new play area,

they couldn't wait to jump in and enjoy it!

The volunteers improved the school’s play area by

accomplishing the following:

Repainting two picnic tables

Revitalizing a wooden platform

Replacing six benches

Creating a sand pit

Installing a water table, a music wall, and a meteor-ology station

Gabriela Mistral Center for Early Childhood students

Photograph by Jim Olive

Martin Acala, City of Houston

Educational Initiatives

Keep Houston Beautiful stimulates public

awareness about the impact of litter and waste in

our environment. KHB develops comprehensive

public education and training programs that

target citizens, students and educators. We attend

community outreach events hosted by schools,

organizations, and companies to talk about how

important it is to keep our community clean. Our

volunteers distribute educational information to

attendees and talk to them about how they can

volunteer for clean ups or even organize their

own activity.

Throughout the year Keep Houston Beautiful attends both large and small educational fairs to educate

youth about KHB and the work that we do.

This year Keep Houston Beautiful had the opportunity to at-tend several big events, reaching out to

over 29,000 children in total!

In April, KHB attended the annual Boy Scout Fair hosted at the Reliant Arena. We reached out to

approximately 20,000 scouts and troop leaders, informing them of water and litter control as well as

various ways Keep Houston Beautiful can aid in their service projects.

Another large event we attended was the Water Week. During that week-long educational festival,

students are able to attend field trips to learn more about water conservation and the importance of

protecting water resources.

Keep Houston Beautiful was able to reach out

to over 2,000 students at this event and share

the work we have done to conserve water

around the city as well as encourage the

students to make changes in their daily

routines to conserve water.

On a smaller scale, Keep Houston Beautiful

was able to attend Purple Sage Elementary

school’s Career Day. During this time we

shared with approximately 100 students the

work that nonprofit organizations do and the

impact that they make within the community.

From left to right : Keep Houston Beautiful Chairman Lori

Carper, John L. Nau, III of Silver Eagle Distributors, L.P., Mayor

Annise Parker, and Bobbie Nau

From left to right : J. Howard Rambin III, Ed Wulfe, Founder’s

Award BLVD Place Wulfe & Co. / Environmental Design winner,

Mayor Annise Parker, and Houston Beautiful Chairman Lori Carper

Photograph by Jim Olive

Dow employee volunteering in First Ward

Photograph by Jim Olive

Houstonians enjoying the revitalized bicycle path

Recognition

31st Annual Mayor’s Proud Partners Luncheon

On October 26, 2015 over 400 guests joined Keep Houston Beautiful to recognize Mr. and Mrs. John L.

Nau, III as the Mayor’s Outstanding Proud Partner and luncheon honorees for their record of

community service and environmental stewardship. For the first time in its 31 year history, the Mayor’s

Proud Partner Luncheon awarded this prestigious honor to a couple.

The ceremony presided over by Lori Carper, KHB Chairman, took place at the Hilton Americas

Downtown Houston where a hearty lunch was served for the occasion. The Honorable Mayor Annise

Parker generously took part in the ceremony where she presented awards to the 2015 Winners.

Governor’s Community Achievement Awards

For more than two decades, Keep Texas Beautiful, in partnership with the Texas Department of

Transportation (TxDOT), has awarded the prestigious Governor's Community Achievement Awards

to ten Texas communities with the best grassroots environmental programs in the state each year.

The competition distributes $2 million in funding from TxDOT across the 10 communities, with the

amount based on population size. The funds are used for landscaping projects along local rights-of-

way. The community's environmental program is judged on achievements in seven areas:

● Community Leadership and Coordination

● Public Awareness

● Education

● Beautification and Community Improvement

● Litter Prevention and Cleanup

● Solid Waste Management

● Litter Law and Illegal Dumping Enforcement

2015 Keep America Beautiful National Award Winner

Keep America Beautiful’s National Awards program

annually recognizes and honors the best of the best among its

network of community-based affiliates and leading corporate,

nonprofit and government agency partners, as well as

individual volunteers across the country.

To honor individuals and organizations committed to

creating communities that are clean, green and more beautiful

places to live, Keep America Beautiful opens the application

period for specific categories of its National Awards to the

public, while others are offered exclusively to Keep America

Beautiful affiliates.

Donors

$100,000 - $249,999 City of Houston

$50,000 - $99,999 City of Houston*

$10,000 - $24,999 Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

John P. McGovern Foundation

Shell Oil Company

Silver Eagle Distributors, LP

Waste Connections, Inc.

Waste Management

X-VAND

$5,000 - $9,999 Louis & Robin Blut

H-E-B

Janice & Robert McNair Foundation, The

Moody Rambin Interets

Morgan Inc.

John M. O'Quinn Foundation, The

Republic Waste Services

Sprint Fort Bend County Landfill, L.P.

Sprint Waste Services

$1,000 - $4,999 AECOM Technology Corporation

Allstate Foundation, The

CenterPoint Energy

Clutch City Foundation

Bill & Becky Edmondson

Elite Change

Garver Foundation, The

Steven Gibson

Halliburton, Inc

Houston Association of Realtors

Houston Livestock Show And Rodeo

Houston Zoo, Inc.

Jones & Carter Inc.

Keep America Beautiful

Keep Texas Beautiful, Inc.

Liberty Mutual

Steven Lindley

Magnolia Nursery

Dale Mohn

Dan Moody, Jr.

National Collegiate Athletic Association

Neighborhood Recovery Community

Karen North

Password Productions

Jeffrey Peterson

Port of Houston Authority

Private Practice Management

Dan Sullenbarger

Sarah's Florist

Slack & Company

Sprint Sand & Clay, LLC

Michael Sutterer

Dr. Adriana Tamez

James D Tates

Tex-Trude

U.S. Conference of Mayor's

United Healthcare Insurance Company

Uptown Houston

WCA WASTE CORPORATION

Ed Wulfe

YMCA of Greater Houston

$100 - $999 Joyce Adkins

Razi Asaduddin

Keiji Asakura

Avenue Community Development

Nancy Bailey

Emily Barlow

Rebecca "Becky" Begley

Lora Bernard

John Bishop

Clay Brollier

W. Burhans

Buffalo Exchange

Bill Burhaus

John Butler

Joan Bynum

Lori Carper

Charles Cave

Chicago Title Insurance Company

Susan J. Cita

City of Houston (CMC)

Alyce Coffey

Troy Collins

Sidney Cunningham

Louis Cushman

Terri Drabik-O'Reilly

Candy Sue Duncan

Iman Farrior

First Continental Investment Co., Ltd.

Ramiro Fonseca

Cece Fowler

Greater East End Mgmt District

Greater Houston Community Foundation

Tory Gunsolley

Walter Hambrick

Hayden Hasenbank

Sara Healol

Alex Hernandez

Houston Highway Credit Union

Betty Houston

Linda Hunsaker

Robert Ivany

John Jacob

K Foundation, The

Elizabeth A. Kennedy

Christine Lambeth

Amelia Lane Damborg

Jeffrey Lee

Judy Ley

James Liska

Marley Lott

Miranda Maldonado

James Matujec

M.C. Management & Development, Inc.

Anne C. Mendelsohn

Emily Messa

Louise Moss

Lindsay Munoz

NASA Johnson Space Center

Joe Nelson

Lynda Norton

Northern Trust

Northfield Sections One & Two Property

Roksan Okan Vick

Ann Ollo

Gertrud Pater

Allen B Potvin - In honor of Robin Blut

J. Howard Rambin, III

Janice Rose

Jules H. Rose

Nancy Rutherford

Pat Rutledge

Shavannah Schreiber

Melanie Scruggs

Andrew Sipocz

Frank Staats

Y. Ping Sun

Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc.

Toshiba International Corporation

Lori Traweek

Phoebe Tudor

University of Houston Facilities Mgmt

Jacquie Vargas

Frank G. Weary

Alison White

$50

Air Alliance

Darrell Bunch

Frieda de la Morena

Fontaine/Scenic Wood Civic Club

Evelyn Garcia

Greater Northside Management District

Priscilla Kennedy

Lisa Lanter

Alan Montgomery

Douglas Peterson

Benjamin Proler

Anat Ronen

Gina Rotolo

Vanessa Shepherd

Marissa Sipocz

Doreen Stoller

Kimberly Urban

Brittany White

Kellie Williams

*In-Kind

2015-2016 Financial Overview

Houston Clean City Commission, Inc. d/b/a Keep Houston Beautiful

Statement of Financial Position as of June 30, 2016

Assets

Cash and cash equivalents $44,881

Grants and accounts receivable $49,574

Inventory $20,359

Property and equipment net $ 4,015

Total assets $118,759

Liabilities and net assets

Liabilities

Accrued expenses $ 31,194

Net Assets

Unrestricted $ 87,565

Total liabilities and net assets $118,759

Statement of Activities for the year ended June 30, 2016

Statement of Revenue

Fundraising $118,552

Government grants $165,657

Contributions $188,681

Noncash contributions $107,299

Total $472,890

Statement of Functional Expenses

Program Services $350,092

Fundraising expenses $ 61,578

Management and general expenses $ 75,881

Total functional expenses $487,551

Change in net assets ($14,654)

Net assets, beginning of year $100,165

Net assets, end of year $ 85,510

Leadership

Houston Clean City Commission Inc.

Officers and Board of Directors

Lori Carper, President

Susan Cita

J. Howard Rambin, III, Treasurer

Walter Hambrick, Jr. Secretary

Penny Butler

Robert W. Gibbs, Jr.

Donald Smith

Donald Poarch

Chris Wilmot

Commissioners

Joyce Akins – District J

Harris County Department of Education

Community Volunteer

Razi Asaduddin

Cyber Security Advisor

ExxonMobil

Nancy Bailey

Public Affairs and Communications

Manager

The Coca-Cola Company

Lora-Marie Bernard – AL3

Community Volunteer

Clay Brollier – District F

Community Volunteer

Penny H. Butler

Community Volunteer

Lori Carper, CIPS, CMM, CMP

Director of Meetings and the International

Program

Houston Association of REALTORS

Charles Cave – District D

Project Facilitator

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris

County (METRO)

Susan J. Cita

Senior Associate/Senior Project Manager

TBG Partners

Daniel Derozier

Web Producer

Houstonia

Hai Tran Duong

Community Relations Manager

Houston Rockets & Toyota Center

Becky Edmondson – District K

Westbury Super Neighborhood, Co-

president

Ramiro Fonseca – Position I

College Success Coordinator

Project GRAD Houston

Robert W. Gibbs Jr.*

Robert W. Gibbs, Jr. Law Firm

Anna Gonzales – District H

Harris County Pretrial Service

Alexandria “Alex” Griffin

Project Manager

the Clifford Group, Inc.

Edna Griggs – District B

Community Volunteer

José F. Griñán

Senior Anchor

KRIV-TV (FOX 26)

Walter Hambrick, Jr.*

District Vegetation Manager

Texas Department of Transportation

Houston District

Harry Hayes

Chief Operating Officer and

Director, Solid Waste Management

Department

City of Houston

Patricia Herrera

President

Main Connections

Shelley L. Kennedy

United HealthCare

Director Account Management

Natali Hurtado

International Management District

Jessica Mahaffey – AL5

Vice President, External Affairs

Direct Energy

Miranda Maldonado

Environmental Specialist

AECOM

James G. Matujec

Management Analyst IV

City of Houston Houston Airport System,

Finance Division

Emily A. Messa

Associate Vice Chancellor/

Assistant VP for Administration

University of Houston

Lindsay Taylor Munoz

Director, External Affairs

AT&T

Karen North

CSTEM Educational Consulting

Director of Outreach

Jeff Peterson

The Scotts’ Miracle-Gro Company

Don Poarch*

Owner/Partner

The Sprint Companies

Benjamin H. Proler District C

Commercial & Industrial Analyst

Shell Energy North America

J. Howard Rambin, III*

Founder/CEO

Moody Rambin

Noah Rattler

Community Volunteer

Janice S. Rose – AL1

Community Volunteer

Nancy D. Rutherford – District G

Community Volunteer

Shavonnah Schreiber

Marketing Manager – EHS & Sustainability

IHS, Inc.

Melanie Scruggs – AL4

Program Director (Houston)

Texas Campaign for the Environment

Warren Sloan – District A

Personal Financial Representative

Allstate Insurance

Donald J. Smith*

Area VP – Texas & Oklahoma

Waste Management of Texas, Inc.

Dr. Adriana Tamez

Houston Community College

Board of Trustee- District III

Ashley R. Threeton

Director, Audit Services

ConocoPhillips

Frank G. Weary – District E

Community Volunteer

Chris K. Wilmot*

President & CEO

WCW International Holding Co

Stephen Williams

Director

City of Houston Health & Human Services

Keep Houston Beautiful Staff

Mike Aden

Warehouse Technician

Robin Blut

Executive Director

Audrey Lauzon-Laroche

Program Manager

Donna Muniz

Bookkeeper

Keep Houston Beautiful

3000 Richmond Avenue, Suite 350

Houston, TX 77098

Phone: 713-839-8855

Fax: 713-839-8880

Email: contact@houstonbeautiful.org

Cover photograph by Jim Olive

www.stockyard.com