Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendy Champion.
Wendy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Founder Ebby Halliday established Keep Dallas Beautiful in the 1960’s. Based on the success of this environmental organization, Ms. Halliday and Lady Bird Johnson developed a state-wide effort known as Keep Texas Beautiful.
The early years were spent focused on litter awareness and beautification, culminating in being a major contributor to the development and construction of Klyde Warren Park.
Keep Dallas Beautiful became dormant in 2011 and remained that way until its reinvigoration by the current Board of Directors in May of 2017. The Board of Director’s mission focused on resilient communities, sustainable programs, and environmental stewardship encourages the improvement of the environment and quality of life.
Independent of the City of Dallas, Keep Dallas Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) organization, funded by private donations and grants. We focus on building community leadership and evolving environmental improvements beyond the scope of basic government services for our fast-growing community falling within the city and throughout Dallas County.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We are encouraged and humbled daily by the number of volunteers and in-kind donations we receive in support of the Keep Dallas Beautiful Mission. The highest hurdle for KDB, like other non-profit organizations, is identifying and maintaining consistent funding sources which ensure program sustainability.
Keep Dallas Beautiful – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Keep Dallas Beautiful is a jack of all trades when it comes to pursuing our mission of eliminating litter, beautifying communities and improving recycling. These three pillars are our foundation and what sets us apart is the fact that we listen to our neighbors and take an expanded view of each so we can support them through education.
The elimination of litter isn’t going to happen just performing cleanups around town. It’s important that we educate our community about why litter is so destructive and what they can do to eliminate litter in their neighborhood.
Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, so beautifying a community takes on many shapes. Whether it’s planting spring flowers, cleaning graffiti, commissioning a mural, supporting volunteer events to spread smiles or helping reclaim a community garden, We help neighborhoods Keep Dallas Beautiful, one community at a time.
Recycling isn’t just what we do at the curb-side. It’s how we respond to the world around us. We educate our community on the 5-Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot. Refusing eliminates waste because we are looking for reusable alternatives. Reducing what we purchase and being mindful of our needs over wants (think sharing a meal rather than taking home left-overs) and take care of what you have so it lasts longer. Reuse by repairing or repurposing items you already have or find second hand. It keeps things out of the landfill. Recycle everything accepted at the MRF, start by just recycling one type of item. Rot (composting) items which cannot be recycled and use it for fertilizer in those beautiful gardens.
We are extremely proud to be the only Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful affiliate to have multiple Keep America Beautiful Certified Schools. The student-led activities required to achieve this certification provide students with leadership skills, national recognition and scholarship opportunities, not to mention the wonderful things they do for their school and community at large. Our students have cleared over 20,000 lbs of debris/litter from lakes, planted trees, recycled clothing through clothing drives, created sustainable litter programs on their campuses and provided the community with recycling education.
We listen!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There are so many proud moments for KDB. Providing the seed money for Klyde Warren Park, coordinating efforts to improve outdoor environments for our first responders to mitigate carcinogenic exposure, mentoring our students to achieve the KAB school certification, watching our students grow and make a difference. How do you choose from this wonderful list?
Pricing:
- Keep Dallas Beautiful Corporate Membership – $1,000 – $25,000+
- Keep Dallas Beautiful Individual Membership – $100 – $10,000+
- Keep Dallas Beautiful School Membership – $25 – 500+
Contact Info:
- Address: Mail or shipping only
4824 Cash Road
Dallas, Texas 75247 - Website: keepdallasbeautiful.org
- Phone: 2145646185
- Email: info@keepdallasbeautiful.net
- Instagram: keepdallasbeautiful
- Facebook: @keepdallasbeautiful
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
