Keep Bakersfield Beautiful

The City of Bakersfield volunteer committee Keep Bakersfield Beautiful (KBB) has a long history of doing extraordinary things out of love for our community as an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful (KAB). The volunteer impact of KBB is as humbling as it is impressive. KBB conservatively estimates that over 150,000 volunteers have cleaned up more than 4-Million pounds of litter and illegal dumps, grown green public spaces, created dozens of public murals, and educated thousands of local youth. Together through the years, KBB volunteers have planted more than 4,300 trees and several thousand flowers, founded 2 community gardens and continues to help them and campus gardens. KBB volunteers also coordinate public mural opportunities not only to beautify Bakersfield, but to celebrate it and give local artists an opportunity to be seen.  KBB can do more of these types of things with your contribution to us through Give Big Kern.    

The positive impact of KBB extends beyond the superficial. KBB understands that people are connected through community service. We strive to inspire purpose and engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving our community. KBB teaches children and teens about the importance of community service and environmental stewardship. And for some, KBB touches them on an even deeper level. Volunteers have shared with KBB leadership that they cherished litter and illegal dump cleanups as a way to feel connected and useful. Others have shared that KBB community gardens take some worry away about how to put food on the table for their families. And for a longtime, many volunteers have expressed that volunteering for KBB has become a tradition for their families, friends, workplaces, places of worship, and more. 

KBB also freely shares our best practices and success stories with others to inspire positive, impactful change. KBB’s award winning programs have been shared on an international level as a guest speaker for several KAB conferences, a special event at Harvard for North American homelessness experts and other stakeholders, and national media and social media. KBB also recruits and grooms new KAB affiliates, including Cal State University, Bakersfield (the second campus affiliate in the nation), County of Kern (Keep Kern Beautiful), and City of Fresno (Beautify Fresno). To date for our efforts, KBB has earned 36 local, state, and national awards, including 4 Beautiful Bakersfield Awards. It’s noteworthy that 4 KBB volunteer appointees have won KAB national awards for their leadership, and the late Mayor Dr. Harvey L. Hall, Ph.D. received a top KAB national award for his accomplishments with KBB.  

KBB volunteers have been part of the crew to make Bakersfield a more beautiful place and be the sound of something better. With the support of the City and sponsors, every year thousands of KBB volunteers take direct action in improving the ecological and aesthetic value of our city by cleaning up litter, recycling, and gardening/landscaping. Plus, KBB makes a positive impact through awareness campaigns and prevention efforts. Sponsors are part of the crew to keep Bakersfield beautiful.