Keep America Beautiful has launched its second annual effort to tap into the imagination and innovation of the nation’s youth to continue to advance its fight to End Littering in America. The “How Will You … End Littering?” Video Contest, open to students in grades 9-12, asks the next generation of community stewards to share their ideas about how to end littering by educating and motivating people to properly dispose of their trash.
“Keep America Beautiful envisions a country in which every community is a clean, green and beautiful to live,” said Helen Lowman, president and CEO, Keep America Beautiful. “By engaging students to share their unique vision about the damaging effects of litter and littering behavior can only help in our effort to change littering behaviors.”
Students in grades 9-12 are challenged to tackle the issue of litter and littering behavior in America by creating a 30- to 60-second public service message video that conveys that littering is costly, harmful to the environment and economy, illegal, and just downright wrong. Videos will be promoted through social media and other online channels as well as national and local market publicity efforts, sparking a campaign to encourage personal responsibility to make littering a socially unacceptable behavior.
The 2016 winners in their respective categories were:
- Carter Rutledge, 9th grader at Daniel 1 Academy in Cookeville, TN with his submission entitled, “No Consequences.”
- Rachel Ray, 11th grader at Baldwin High School in Milledgeville, GA for her submission entitled, “End Littering.”
The overall theme of video submissions should be inspiring, entertaining, non-judgmental, informative, and optimistic. The videos will be scored by a panel of judges comprised of representatives from and associated with Keep America Beautiful.
Two Grand Prize Winners — one representing grades 9-10 and one from grades 11-12 — will receive a GoPro HERO5 Black video camera and an all-expenses paid trip for two to the 2018 Keep America Beautiful National Conference in Dallas, TX with their video being showcased in front of more than 400 conference attendees.
Two Runners-Up — one in grades 9-10, one in grades 11-12 — will receive a GoPro HERO5 Session video camera. The first 20 eligible entrants in each grade category will receive a $25 Best Buy Gift Card.
The contest is sponsored by the Wrigley Company Foundation. Entries will be accepted until October 6, 2017.
