Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and FedEx to Activate Volunteers for Conservation Project

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. (KIB) will lead a volunteer day with FedEx team members to help restore and beautify the Pogue’s Run watershed, through a grant program sponsored by FedEx and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). The project is part of a twelve-city effort to pair FedEx team members with local nonprofits for a day of service addressing pressing urban environmental challenges.

KIB was selected by FedEx and NFWF to receive the grant because its project maximized philanthropic and volunteer resources to improve air and water quality and enhance community spaces in urban areas. This planting is also part “2,012 by 2012” initiative, to plant 2,012 trees on the near east side leading up to Super Bowl XLVI as a living legacy for the community.

WHEN: Monday, May 9, 2011 at 9 am

WHERE: Pogue’s Run watershed
1800 Nowland Avenue; Indianapolis, IN 46201

SPOKESPEOPLE: Bob Palmer, Vice President FedEx Express Central Region
Andrew Hart, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.
Tracy Heaton de Martinez, Super Bowl Legacy Project

VISUALS: Volunteers, neighbors, and project partners will plant hundreds of trees and remove several acres of invasive species in the Pogue’s Run watershed.

BACKGROUND: FedEx and NFWF have entered into a unique collaboration to address the most pressing urban environmental challenges in major U.S. cities. Through NFWF, 2011 grants have been awarded to local nonprofits in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Memphis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington DC, New York City and Boston.

The FedEx collaboration with NFWF is part of EarthSmart, a FedEx commitment to minimize impact on the environment, including through FedEx environmental and volunteer efforts.

About Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.:
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization uniting people to build community and transform public spaces through aesthetic and environmental improvement. In 2010, KIB engaged nearly 40,000 volunteers on 600 community improvement projects. To learn more, please visit www.kibi.org.

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