SOLVE Brings LOVE PDX To Inspire Action For A Cleaner, Greener, More Beautiful Portland, Oregon (Photo) - 08/13/26
With support from Keep America Beautiful and Niagara Cares, the campaign encourages people to show love for their community through cleanups, recycling, and beautification
Portland, Ore., August 13, 2026 — During the citywide Pick It Up, Portland! yesterday, SOLVE launched LOVE PDX, a local initiative to inspire community action to protect and beautify the local parks, streets, waterways, neighborhoods, and public spaces that make Portland special. 110 volunteers joined litter cleanups at five different locations (Downtown, Central Eastside, Holladay Park, Cathedral Park and Sellwood Riverfront Park) and collectively picked up nearly 1,000 pounds of litter. Pick It Up, Portland!, which celebrated SOLVE’s 10th anniversary of the citywide cleanup held in summer, kicks off locally led efforts to:
- Reduce litter and illegal dumping
- Promote recycling
- Engage local residents in volunteer efforts that advance these goals.
“Pick It Up, Portland! was the perfect occasion to launch Love PDX℠, a campaign that encourages Portlanders to care for the places they love through community and environmental action. The campaign as well as this annual event inspires people to take pride in their communities through recycling education, community cleanups, and shared stewardship of local spaces,” said Kris Carico, CEO SOLVE.
Love PDX was developed in partnership with Keep America Beautiful, Niagara Cares, the philanthropic division of Niagara Bottling, and SOLVE and will run through April 2027.
Research conducted for Keep America Beautiful by The Harris Poll found that Americans overwhelmingly want their communities to feel welcoming, clean, and cared for.
“When people care about a place, they want to keep it healthy and beautiful,” said David Wheeler, Keep America Beautiful’s Vice President for National Partnerships.“ LOVE PDX gives people a meaningful way to turn that care into action.”
With support from Niagara Cares and Keep America Beautiful, the LOVE campaign was initially piloted with LOVE ATX in Austin, Texas in 2024 and has now expanded to additional cities including: Dallas, New Orleans, Phoenix, Portland and, in California, Sacramento, San Pedro, and Venice Beach.
Learn more about LOVE PDX at solve.org/lovepdx
About LOVE PDX Partners
SOLVE brings communities together to take care of our environment and enhance our waterways. Since 1969, the organization has grown from a small, grassroots initiative to a national model of volunteer action. Today, SOLVE mobilizes and trains thousands of volunteers of all ages across Oregon, and SW Washington, to clean and restore our neighborhoods and natural areas, while empowering a community of environmental stewards for our state.
Niagara Cares is the heart of what we do and who we are at Niagara Bottling. For more than 60 years, we have been making a difference for our Team Members, consumers and communities through philanthropic giving, volunteering, water donations and disaster relief. As a family-owned business, we are committed to creating meaningful change for our communities through a spirit of giving back both big and small. For more information, visit niagarawater.com/niagara-cares.
Keep America Beautiful, founded in 1953, is a national nonprofit that inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Through its powerful network of community-based affiliates, millions of volunteers, and strategic partners, Keep America Beautiful brings people together to transform public spaces into beautiful places. For more information, visit kab.org. Learn more about the national effort to bring LOVE to cities across America at https://www.lovethiscommunity.org/.
