Keep America Beautiful formed in 1953, long before being “green” was fashionable. After 60 years, Keep America Beautiful is the nation’s leading nonprofit that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. With a network of more than 1,200 affiliate and participating organizations including state recycling organizations, we work with millions of volunteers to take action in their communities through programs that deliver sustainable impact.

Keep America Beautiful offers solutions that create clean, beautiful public places, reduce waste and increase recycling, generate positive impact on local economies and inspire generations of environmental stewards. Through our programs and public-private partnerships, we engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community’s environment. We work to build and sustain vibrant communities that are socially connected, environmentally healthy and economically sound. Programs and projects range from community cleanups, disaster restoration, playground revitalization, community greening and more.

The Sherwin-Williams Company began its partnership with KAB on the Graffiti Hurts program in 1997 in an effort to combat graffiti vandalism. Graffiti Hurts is a community-based graffiti prevention program that provides resources to help communities assess the graffiti problem, initiate graffiti prevention activities, and educate youth and adults about the impact of graffiti vandalism in their neighborhoods.    

As the official sponsor of the Graffiti-Hurts Grants Program, Sherwin-Williams provides funding and product donations for program. The funding and paint product certificates enable the grant recipients to successfully carry out graffiti-abatement practices in their local communities. Members of the Sherwin-Williams company sit on the Graffiti Hurts Advisory Team, which provides expert support to the program manager and those interested in graffiti prevention.

“Sherwin-Williams is excited to once again partner with Keep America Beautiful on the Graffiti Hurts program. It is rewarding to see the growing national impact this program has on graffiti abatement, awareness, and education in cities and towns across America,” said Harvey Sass, president and general manager, Diversified Brands Division, The Sherwin-Williams Company.  “As local governments continue to face budget constraints, providing these resources to communities is a meaningful way for Sherwin-Williams to activate groups dedicated to graffiti prevention and eradication.”

Sherwin-Williams also hosts the Graffiti Hurts website (www.graffitihurts.org) which offers best practices, reference tools, and information about graffiti vandalism, abatement techniques, and more. This year, Sherwin-Williams is redesigning and updating the website with new content and visuals. The website will re-launch will be this fall.