Join, Volunteer and Sponsor

Keep Oakland Beautiful

The mission of Keep Oakland Beautiful is to create opportunities through
education and community involvement for a
beautiful, clean and green Oakland. 

Keep Oakland Beautiful is an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful (KAB), a national nonprofit organization. KAB's mission is to engage citizens in taking personal responsibility for improving their community environments. KAB has established diverse, highly effective programs that instill community pride and produce tangible local benefits for years to come. For Oakland to reap the full benefits of belonging to this national effort, dedicated individuals play a critical role in this endeavor. Board members share their time and expertise as volunteer leaders of Keep Oakland Beautiful.

Board members are key to building community pride, and carrying out the KOB mission. Board members actively seek to expand support for participation in the Adopt-A-Spot and Maintain-A-Drain programs, community cleanups, Earth Day, and other activities. In addition, members of the Board assist with event promotion, such as the Plant Daffodils annual project, the Great American Cleanup, fundraising to support the Small Grant Program and identifying monetary and in-kind sponsorship for other projects. The KOB Board of Directors meets the fourth Wednesday of every month.

Measurability and accountability are cornerstones of Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB) and its affiliates.  KAB’s Litter Index is an essential part of the planning and education process to address the littered conditions of cities nationwide.

For more information about the Keep Oakland Beautiful Board, contact Cookie Robles-Wong at 434-5126 or crobles@oaklandnet.com.

For information on Keep America Beautiful, visit www.kab.org or send an email to info@kab.org.

Small Grants Program Application

Keep Oakland Beautiful (KOB) announces the availability of small grants in a pilot program aimed at encouraging local citizens and community groups to clean and beautify the Oakland.

Designed to foster local solutions and community improvement, grants in the amount of $200 - $500 will be distributed from funds raised by KOB. There are two funding cycles: summer and winter. Deadlines are April 30 (summer) and September 30 (winter). Click here for a Small Grant Application.

Examples of successful grants could include the makeover of a park or the beautification of a section of a neighborhood or a community area. Grants will be awarded to individuals or groups that demonstrate creativity and/or community renewal. Evidence of sustainability of the project after the grant funding terminates is also a criteria. The use of partnerships to leverage the scope of the project and public visibility are also factors which will affect how the applications are ranked by the organization.

2007 Daffodil Campaign


KOB Board members and staff at 2007 Daffodil distribution day

Sponsorship

Waste Management contributes for 2008 Great American Clean-Up (GAC)

Volunteer and Mentorship Opportunities

Volunteer

Click on any of the links to the left for information about volunteer opportunities. Keep Oakland Beautiful is housed in the Department of Facilities and Environment > Keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful Division . The Volunteer / Keep Oakland Beautiful web pages here take you to volunteer opportunities throughout the Public Works Agency.

"Increasing volunteerism is one of my goals. Our task of caring for our infrastructure is huge - especially when it is aging and resources are dwindling, so we can use all the help we can get. I want to increase volunteerism and develop partnerships with community groups, which will help us work collaboratively in addressing some of our needs. Our adopt-a-spot programs and community clean-up programs are great examples of how volunteers can help us improve our City. Our annual Earth Day and Creek to Bay Day events have established a culture of caring within our community, and we must further develop that culture from an annual event to one that occurs more often, perhaps monthly. Our parks and medians also provide us with an opportunity for volunteerism and stewardship, and we must develop these opportunities into functioning partnerships. Once we develop these partnerships, we must be prepared to fully support those efforts - in a true partnership fashion.

If you can think of ideas where we can partner with the community and solicit volunteers, please let me know."

- Raul Godinez II , Agency Director
   State of the Agency address, July 2004

Keep Oakland Beautiful Staff

Keep Oakland Beautiful Coordinator
Cookie Robles-Wong (510) 434-5126

Senior Clean City Specialist
Christine Ralls (510) 434-5113

More Information: