After 23 years of preserving the Midlands’ beauty from a basement level office in the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Keep The Midlands Beautiful has settled into a charming circa-1938 bungalow in West Columbia, complete with a thriving front garden.
The non-profit was established in 1989 with a mission to engage, educate and inspire residents to invest in the community through litter prevention, recycling and beautification. Each year, thousands volunteer to support the cause, including groups that regularly remove litter from area roads and waterways, schools and businesses that unite to implement recycling programs, and numerous communities that pursue beautification projects.
The new location is comprised of three rooms, including a conference room for business meetings. Corporations worked together to provide a furnished foundation for the office, donating office furniture and computers. Home Depot even supplied a much-needed storage house, creating additional space for supplies, including signs promoting recycling that are loaned to local festivals free of charge. “Before, we had to store them off-site,” says Jacqueline Buck, executive director. “Now we are able to keep them right by our office.”
After celebrating the move with an open house, the staff tackled its first project: enhancing the office’s curb appeal. The grounds now feature an array of local plants, including hydrangeas, Japanese yew, tea olive plants and some accented cast iron plants. From this charming location, Keep the Midlands Beautiful continues to improve Columbia.
