DO YOUR PART TO KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL
AND MAINTAIN GREEN LIVING SPACES FOR EVERYONE
Have you ever walked through a park and seen a plastic bottle or wrapper lying on the ground? If so, did you pick it up and properly dispose of it?Youmight not have realized it, but in that moment, you took a small step toward keeping your community—and, by extension, America—beautiful! April is Keep America Beautiful Month, and folks who celebrate aim to help each community in every state stay clean and green. Created by the nonprofit organization Keep America Beautiful, this holiday offers a perfect opportunity to roll up your sleeves and work to better the place you live in. Here are three ways to show your appreciation for a green America this month. Volunteer for the Great American Cleanup. This event is one of America’s largest community improvement programs, with hundreds of thousands of people participating each year. In 2019, over 550,000 volunteers participated in the GAC to bring natural beauty back into their communities. 2020 marks this event’s 22nd year, and you can be a part of it this month! Volunteer your time with a local Keep America Beautiful affiliate or another community improvement program close to home. Do your part to clean up your parks and spread awareness today.
Bus drivers do much more than merely drive. In the snow and ice, they have to get up extra early to make sure the Blue Bird is safe. They help calm the nerves of upset children (and anxious parents on those first days of school). They help kiddos with disabilities get on board. They may have to open and close gates in the pouring rain. They befriend shy students and provide a friendly smile to start and end the day. Candy Knapp is one of these kind souls. A driver for Springfield City schools for 40 years, she delivered a lot of precious cargo. Along the way, she bore her share of battle scars. She tore her shoulder falling on ice. She jammed her thumb pushing a stuck brake release. She hurt her back lifting heavy coolers full of lunches for latchkey students going on a field trip and then aggravated it loading a child into a wheelchair. Shrugging these off, she kept on keeping on until she fell in a pothole on a hill while pulling gates together to lock up … during a rainstorm. The resulting knee injury required getting surgeries, undergoing a lot of rehab, using a TENS unit for pain, and ultimately, using a walker. Obviously, performing the work she’d enjoyed for 40 years was now out of the question. The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation decided vocational rehabilitation was not feasible, so we filed for permanent total disability. The Industrial Commission doctor thought Candy could do some sit-down work and that her application should be denied. Her scheduled hearing was assigned to a hearing officer who’s one of the toughest to win with. (Think of the old Life Cereal commercials: He won’t grant it; he hates everything!) Despite the terrible odds, Candy won! I believe the hearing officer saw a woman who had dedicated herself to her students for her entire working life and his heart grew three sizes that day. I’m glad we could play a part in her story. I thank Candy and all the bus drivers we’ve represented over the years for the unseen work they do. As with most things, it’s a lot more involved than I would’ve thought at first blush. Start plogging. If you’re passionate about staying active and cleaning up your neighborhood, then this is the perfect activity for you! Plogging combines jogging and picking up litter, which takes care of your health and keeps your community clean. Anybody can do it: Just throw on your running shoes, grab a bag, head out the door, and pick up any stray bits of trash you see on your morning jog or evening walk. Improve recycling through education. An important goal during Keep America Beautiful Month is to spread awareness about recycling. There are various ways to educate those around you about recycling and encourage them to do their part. At work, for example, you can volunteer to lead a recycling initiative by printing off guides and fostering discussions on why recycling is so essential. At home, you canmake a commitment with your family to fulfill the three R’s of recycling: reduce, reuse, recycle. To discover more ways to participate in Keep America Beautiful month, visit their website at KAB.org today!
O h, those many days of standing distance at a couple miles away, I rode the bus for after-school bowling league and field trips. In junior high, though, I was at the bus stop every morning. Bus drivers certainly get their share of ribbing about grinding the gears when they shift (doubtful that’s even an issue anymore, since they likely all have automatic transmissions) and running over curbs. But the drivers I have known over the years cared a lot more for their students than I realized as a child. in the cold, waiting for the school bus! While my elementary school in Joplin, Missouri, was within walking
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