State and local Keep America Beautiful officials, as well as city officials and volunteers met Monday to plan the statewide kickoff of KAB’s Great American Cleanup.

    Meridian and DeKalb have been selected by Keep Mississippi Beautiful as sites for the Great American Cleanup Mississippi Kickoff on April 12 and 13.

    “Volunteers will be cleaning up and sprucing up, and getting ready for spring, and making our community more prideful and more respectful of our environment,” said Betty Lou Jones, chairperson of the Meridian/Lauderdale County KAB.

    In 1999, Keep America Beautiful introduced its annual Great American Cleanup campaign, where volunteers are organized to clean up litter and illegal dumpsites in their communities, remove graffiti and plant trees, flowers and community gardens. In 2010, the signature event organized 3.9 million volunteers who donated more than 5.7 million hours to improve more than 33,700 communities in all 50 states and beyond, removing 76 million pounds of litter from landscapes and waterways, recycled 15.3 million pounds of metals, 91.5 million pounds of newsprint, 1.1 million tires and 7.2 million pounds of electronics.

    Volunteers in DeKalb and Kemper County will clean up on April 12, and in Meridian and Lauderdale County on April 13 – from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m, both days. Clubs, organizations, churches, youth groups and individuals are encouraged to participate in the community activity.

    “Local volunteers will be joined by representatives from Keep Mississippi Beautiful, as well as volunteers from other areas of the state,” Jones said.

    T-shirts and lunch will be provided to all volunteers on the day of the cleanups. To signup, call (601) 917-4344 or Keep Mississippi Beautiful, (601) 853-4441.