Graffiti Hurts Contest

Posted by on June 10, 2005

[posted from CBO Service-Learning listserv]

Enter to Win Cash Awards in Keep America Beautiful’s
2nd Annual Graffiti Hurts? Contest

For the second year, Keep America Beautiful, Inc. is proud to announce its Graffiti Hurts? National Award contest. Winners receive a cash award of up to $1,000 and national recognition for their innovative and results-oriented graffiti prevention efforts. New this year are three award categories: community under 100,000 population, community over 100,000 population, and paint brush mural.

Graffiti Hurts? was developed in 1996 through a partnership between Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s largest nonprofit education and community improvement organization, and The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW), maker of Krylon paint, to respond to the blight of graffiti vandalism on communities. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, graffiti contributes to lost revenue associated with reduced ridership on transit systems, reduced retail sales, and declines in property value.

Tell us how your city or organization is working to stop graffiti and make a difference in the community. Contest is open to all anti-graffiti projects that have taken place within the last 12 months (during 2004/2005). Local governments, police departments, youth groups, downtown associations, crime prevention organizations, and other groups dedicated to eradicating graffiti vandalism are encouraged to enter.

The award winners will be selected by an independent panel of judges from the public, private, and government sectors. The entry deadline is September 16, 2005. To download an entry form, visit Keep America Beautiful’s Web site at <a href="http://www.kab.org">http://www.kab.org</a> or the Graffiti Hurts? web site at <a href="http://www.graffitihurts.org">http://www.graffitihurts.org</a>.

"We’re proud to partner with The Sherwin-Williams Company and raise awareness about this important quality of life issue," said G. Raymond Empson, President of Keep America Beautiful, Inc. "We were delighted with the response to the first year of the awards program. The entries revealed best practices, unique partnerships, and models now being featured on Keep America Beautiful’s Graffiti Hurts? website."

In 2004 Graffiti Hurts? National Award competition gave prizes to four winning cities: First Response Team in Burlington, VT, and Operation Clean Sweep in New Orleans, LA (first-place overall winners); the Baltimore Police Department in Maryland ("mural" category winner); and Operation Brightside, Inc., Kansas City, KS (Honorable Mention).