In recognition of national Kick Butts Day on March 16, Gateway Community and Technical College Healthy Place to Work & Learn-Tobacco-Free Taskforce, students and staff will join members of the City of Covington and Keep Covington Beautiful for a cigarette butt litter clean-up on the Urban Metro Campus.
The event is fueled by a $40,500 grant from Interact for Health as part of the “The Gateway Healthy Place to Work and Learn Initiative.” The two-year program focused on implementing Gateway’s tobacco-free grounds.
The clean-up will take place from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. behind the Center for Technology, Innovation and Enterprise (TIE) in Electric Alley, which connects 5th and 6th Streets in Covington.
During the clean-up volunteers will also provide resources to students and staff who are interested in learning more about ways to quit smoking.
Gateway and Covington volunteers organized this event to support Gateway’s tobacco-free environment policy and beautify the grounds around the Urban Metro Campus.
“We are thrilled to see the alleys surrounding the Urban Metro Campus get cleaned up!” said Kylie Keene, Gateway grants project manager. “Since the implementation of our Tobacco-Free Environment Policy which prohibits smoking on campus property, people go to the public alleys to smoke, which has increased the amount of cigarette butt litter near high foot traffic areas. We quickly realized this was an environmental issue that needed to be addressed.”
The Electric Alley clean-up is a registered Kick Butts Day event.
Kick Butts Day is a national day of activism that empowers youth to stand out, speak up and seize control against Big Tobacco.
For more information about the event, contact Kylie Keene kylie.keene@kctcs.edu.