Keep Vicksburg-Warren Beautiful, one of the state’s oldest Keep America Beautiful affiliates, has dissolved after more than 20 years due to a lack of financial and volunteer support, said KVWB Executive Director Holley Simrall. However, the nonprofit, volunteer organization is hoping it can get back on its feet with the help of local volunteers.

“I think it’s just a sign of the times,” said Simrall, who has headed KVWB for 13 years. “I don’t want to make it sound like the community has not supported us, because they definitely have for more than 20 years. But, in this economy, I think people who are able to give are primarily giving to organizations that provide people food, shelter and clothing.”

KVWB was established in 1989, one year after Keep Mississippi Beautiful was created by the state legislature as an affiliate of the national Keep America Beautiful program, which has promoted volunteer beautification efforts since 1953. The local affiliate had participated annually in Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup, and also spearheaded countless other neighborhood cleanups and hazardous waste disposal events throughout the community and in local schools.

The group has operated on equal support from private donors and contributions from the city and county, but Simrall said both sources of income have seen heavy cuts in recent years.

The City of Vicksburg allocated $3,000 to KVWB this fiscal year, down from $6,000 the year previous and $12,000 for many years prior, said Simrall. The Warren County Board of Supervisors set aside $9,000 in the current budget for KVWB, down from $10,000 last fiscal year, but up from a $5,000 contribution for much of the group’s existence.

“In years past, the largest portion of our budget was coming from private donations, but they’ve just dropped off drastically,” Simrall said, noting the group typically receives anywhere from $5,000 to $18,000 in donations each year.

The Great American Cleanup was KVWB’s largest event each year. During a banner year in 1998, approximately 250 volunteers turned out to collect more than 700 bags of litter from city streets, two tons of hazardous waste and 700 tires. The event had been scaled back considerably in recent years, said Simrall, with approximately 60 volunteers pitching in at a handful of designated cleanup sites last spring.

“We had a community meeting last year inviting anyone interested in being a part of the Great American Cleanup to come and tell us where they’d like us to focus our efforts, and we had two people show up,” Simrall said.

The 13-member KVWB Board of Directors have been discussing dissolving for about a year, but Simrall said she and board president Michelle Hilbun did not officially recommend ending operations until recently. The board voted Monday to go into an inactive status with Keep America Beautiful. That leaves the door open for re-affiliation, but Simrall said it will take increased donations and volunteer support. 

“We’ve been struggling for the past several years to recruit people to serve on the board. We’ve struggled to recruit volunteers for events such as the Great American Cleanup, and we’ve struggled financially,” she said. “It takes a lot of time and effort from our board members to organize the events, and they agreed we have not been getting the participation necessary to keep it going. The board members are very sad to see it go, and I think it’s fairly likely that it can be reorganized.”

Keep Mississippi Beautiful Executive Director Barbara Dorr said none of the state’s other 28 Keep America Beautiful affiliates appear to be in jeopardy of dissolving due to a lack of financial or volunteer support. Two affiliates have dissolved over the past decade — the Clarksdale and Columbus-Lowndes County chapters — but the Columbus affiliate was recently able to reorganize, said Dorr. She’s optimistic the local affiliate will be able to do the same.

“We’re really disappointed to hear they’re not going to be able to go on because Vicksburg has been a very successful affiliate for a long time and is one of our oldest. It’s so important for a city’s economic development and tourism to be a part of the Keep America Beautiful system and have a structured approach to environmental issues,” Dorr said. “We’re hopeful that they’ll just go inactive with Keep America Beautiful for a while and, at a later time, they’ll pick up the affiliation again and make an even bigger splash.”

Local Keep America Beautiful affiliates such as KVWB pay about $150 a year to be a part of the state and national organizations, said Dorr. More importantly, they are required to coordinate a minimum number of beautification events and education programs in the community to maintain accreditation. Dorr said she understands the financial constraints, but said KVWB should nonetheless be able to survive if enough local residents truly want it in the community.

“In this economic climate, it’s hard for cities to put monies into these things,” said Dorr, “but volunteers are the answer, and they can save it.”

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com