On October 22, Keep PA Beautiful introduced the inaugural class of 35 Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania, high school students in grades 10 to 12 who will act as community stewards to inspire, engage and empower other young Pennsylvanias to keep their communities clean and beautiful.

Meet The Young Ambassadors

-- Allegheny County: Luke Anderson, 10th Grade; Andy Forrester, 11th Grade; Cale Klaff, 12th Grade; Eli Majocha, 12th Grade

-- Bradford County: Corben Conklin, 11th Grade

-- Butler County: Carmen Skal, 12th Grade

-- Cambria County: Maddie Ostinowsky, 12th Grade; Jensen Westrick 12th Grade

-- Chester County: Henri Brunel, 12th Grade; Naomi Tzoanos, 11th Grade

-- Columbia County: Brady McNamara, 11th Grade

-- Cumberland County: Zahra Anjum, 11th Grade; Ania Chandra, 12th Grade; Morgan Stellfox, 10th Grade

-- Dauphin County: Eleana Rijo, 10th Grade

-- Delaware County: Sage Baker, 10th Grade; CJ Chen, 11th Grade

-- Erie County: Emma Burkett, 12th Grade; Gianna Stewart, 11th Grade; Tanvi Udgiri, 11th Grade

-- Indiana County: Via Krimin, 12th Grade; Anna Layden, 11th Grade

-- Lackawanna County: Grace Beckish, 10th Grade

-- Lancaster County: Stella Blue Weaver, 12th Grade

-- Lehigh County: Adrian Chavez, 10th Grade; Siddhant Khandelwal, 12th Grade

-- Lycoming County: Jaden Nixon, 12th Grade

-- Monroe County: Rese Schlameuss, 11th Grade; Angelique Smalls, 11th Grade

-- Montgomery County: Claudia Brach, 12th Grade; Rudra Patel, 12th Grade; Ri Sringari, 12th Grade

-- Philadelphia: Minping Nie, 11th Grade

-- Pike County: Fawn Dutcher, 10th Grade

-- Washington County: Abby Salzman, 12th Grade

Click Here for photos and more information.

Program Outline

Over the nine-month program, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful will guide Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania through a six-step process to implement change in their community.

The Six-step process, originally developed by Earth Force, is as follows:

-- Complete a Community Inventory- focusing on litter and illegal dumping. What services and programs are available in your community?

-- Select an issue. What littering or illegal dumping issue do you want to work on?

-- Policy and Community Practice Research: What are people already doing about this issue?

-- Options for Influencing Policy and Practice: What are your choices for making a difference with this issue?

-- Planning and Taking Civic Action: What are your plans for making a change?

-- Looking Back and Ahead: How did everything go? What will you do next? Identify what people are already doing.

Young Ambassadors are expected to--

-- Attend a virtual orientation and a minimum of four virtual education and training workshops. Workshops will provide information on understanding the impact of litter on roadways, litter prevention, waste management and recycling, civic engagement and related public policy, volunteer management, social media marketing and will feature public and elected officials and industry experts.

-- Attend a minimum of two networking opportunities which will bring together program participants, state officials, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful staff and affiliates, as well as their peer group in Texas (Young Texans Ambassadors Program).

-- Conduct one community cleanup through Pick UP Pennsylvania.

-- Conduct one community education event or activity, with first consideration at the student’s high school or with a focus on engaging with their school peers.

-- Promote their participation in the program and their impact in their community on social media.

Visit the KPB Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania webpage for all the details.  Questions should be directed to Kylie McCutcheon, Affiliate Coordinator, at kmccutcheon@keeppabeautiful.org  or 877-772-3673, ext 114

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the Keep

Pennsylvania Beautiful website. Click Here to become a member.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from KPB, Like them on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, Discover them on Pinterest and visit their YouTube Channel.

Also visit the Illegal Dump Free PA website for more ideas on how to clean up communities and keep them clean and KPB’s Electronics Waste website.

The 2022 Pick Up Pennsylvania Initiative will be held through November 30.  Questions should be directed to Michelle Dunn at 1-877-772-3673 Ext. 113 or send email to: mdunn@keeppabeautiful.org.

Keep PA Beautiful helps mobilize over 100,000 volunteers a year to pick up litter, clean up illegal dumping and beautify Pennsylvania.

NewsClips:

-- TribLive: Penn Hills Council Recognizes Anti-Litter Group

-- Centre Daily Times: Recycling: Bulk Waste Collection, Cleanest Tailgate Contest, More Fall Reminders

Related Articles:

-- DEP Reinstates Sales Of Electronic Devices By 3 Manufacturers Now In Compliance With PA’s Electronic Waste Recycling Law  [PaEN]

-- DEP Sets Nov. 30 Virtual Hearing On Interim Response To Keim Street DCE Hazardous Site Cleanup In Montgomery County  [PaEN]

-- EPA To Host Public Discussion Of Exide Superfund Cleanup Oct. 25 At Muhlenberg H.S. Reading, Berks County.  6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

[Posted: October 22, 2022]

10/24/2022