Northern Virginia 4-H Educational & Conference Center receives $1,000 Green Grant from Keep Virginia Beautiful for water bottle refilling stations

To help reduce the number of plastic water bottles used in its facilities, the Northern Virginia 4-H Educational & Conference Center has been awarded a $1,000 grant as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 12th Annual Green Grants Program.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address an environmental concern in their community. Grants must focus on one of the following priorities: Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification.

“Green Grants provide financial resources needed to implement innovative and effective projects that will result in more clean, green, and beautiful places to live, work, and play. These initiatives bring people together, in partnership, to make positive differences in communities across Virginia,” says Cristi Lawton, Keep Virginia Beautiful’s Executive Director.

The Northern Virginia 4-H Educational Center has offered programming to the youth and families of Northern Virginia since 1981. It hosts youth and adult volunteers from 19 counties in Northern Virginia and the City of Alexandria for 10 weeks of residential summer and specialty camps. They provide youth opportunities to have new experiences, form relationships, and develop life skills and independence in a way that few other experiences can. In addition to its acclaimed camps, the Center also hosts a variety of corporate retreats, festivals, team building programs, and outdoor recreation.

Funds awarded by Keep Virginia Beautiful will help replace antiquated and environmentally hazardous drinking fountains at the 4-H Center with new refillable bottle stations. The new stations include a counter to track the number of single-use plastic water bottles saved by using refillable bottles instead. A total of 15 new stations are planned for coverage in every lodge, shelter, and outdoor space. The first unit installed tracked a reduction of 1,275 single-use plastic bottles just in the first few weeks of usage. It is estimated that each new station will result in a savings of 10,000 fewer plastic bottles annually.

The mission at Keep Virginia Beautiful is to engage and unite Virginians to improve the natural and scenic environment. Since 2011, the Green Grants Program has provided $254,500 for 355 programs and projects throughout the state. Funding is made possible through generous support from Altria, as well as additional sponsorships from WestRock and Village Bank.