During the month of December, PalmettoPride and Keep South Carolina Beautiful awarded Keep Bamberg County Beautiful and Bamberg County Code Enforcement with $20,458 from recent grants.

Keep Bamberg County Beautiful, in conjunction with Bamberg County, applied for the Keep South Carolina Beautiful Grant and the Community Pride Grant earlier in the third quarter of 2016. The award for the Keep South Carolina Beautiful Grant was $10,000 and the Community Pride Grant award was $8,000. The funds will be used to purchase marketing materials, pay for training at conferences throughout the nation, implement programs at the Educational Experience Park and continue operating the programs and events of the department.

Mallory D. Biering, Keep Bamberg County Beautiful Director stated, “We are thankful to PalmettoPride and Keep South Carolina Beautiful for the grant awards, and we are excited to move forward with our projects. KBCB will gear up for more events just after the first of the year where these grants funds will be used.”

According to Biering volunteers, the majority of those volunteers being under the age of 18 help with beautification projects, recycling programs and litter pickups throughout the County, at various times of the year. 

“None of what we do is possible without our volunteers and the Keep Bamberg County Beautiful Volunteer Board. These individuals make things happen. They are all go-getters, they are creative, they are fun, they are intelligent, and in my opinion—they are the best people I have ever worked with.”

Bamberg County Code Enforcement was awarded an enforcement grant for $2,458 from PalmettoPride for equipment needed for the department and annual training from the South Carolina Litter Control Association. Bill Johnson, Bamberg County Director of Operations and Code Enforcement Officer, worked with Litter Officer David Harley and Biering to form the needs of the department over the next year. “We needed more equipment; we are always looking for better equipment and tools to perform enforcement duties. PalmettoPride is the number one source of grant income for our department. Without them, we wouldn’t have such a high success rate of eliminating litter and illegal dumping throughout Bamberg County.”

Keep Bamberg County Beautiful and the Bamberg County Code Enforcement Department work together on a daily basis to reduce litter, reduce waste, and beautify the county in an effort to grow the County’s economic development. The departments work together to respond to the grant applications, which can take anywhere from days to months to complete. The grant funds are spent to offset costs that the department’s budget would otherwise need to cover. Each dollar from a grant award helps to strengthen the department financially, grow the department’s opportunities and expand the type and amount of work accomplished.

“Keep Bamberg County Beautiful and the Code Enforcement Department are working together to change the behavior of the residents and visitors of Bamberg County. I am proud to say our communities are cleaner and more beautiful thanks to these two departments,” stated Bamberg County Council Chairperson Isaiah Odom.

Bamberg County Administrator Joey R. Preston stated, “Since the beginning of these programs, more than $130,000 of grant funds have been brought to Bamberg County thanks to the eagerness of our employees to seek funding from other sources. Their programs, events, and success is thanks to the many grant awards they have received in less than 3 years. Congratulations to Keep Bamberg County Beautiful and the Bamberg County Code Enforcement for their achievements.”

To volunteer with these departments, please call (803) 245-7970, or email kbcb@bambergcounty.sc.gov. Events are held throughout the year where volunteers may become involved with the programs sponsored through funds from PalmettoPride and Keep South Carolina Beautiful.

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