Stamford, Conn.-based Keep America Beautiful (KAB) has announced the recipients of $2,500 graffiti prevention grants through the 2009 Graffiti Hurts National Grant Program. The Graffiti Hurts Grant Program was initiated in 2007 to help communities enhance local graffiti prevention activities.

This year's recipients are: Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe, Calif.; Denver's Crime Prevention & Control Commission; Milwaukee's Department of Neighborhood Services; and Keep San Antonio (Texas) Beautiful. The grants will be used to fund graffiti control initiatives. "The grant recipients all provide wonderful examples of local governments, law enforcement, civic groups and local business collaborating to rid their communities of graffiti vandalism," said KAB President and CEO Matt McKenna.

The Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe's "Unity Project" helps youth express their art within the framework of city laws. It will use grant funds to organize graffiti cleanups and teach youth how to gain approval for public art. Youth will also provide graffiti prevention education to peers and younger children.

The Crime Prevention & Control Commission in Denver will provide diversionary art and leadership skills to local youth. Students will be taught marketable art skills and the appropriate placement of their murals. Students also will receive Graffiti Hurts curriculum through an after-school program.

The Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services will implement a graffiti intervention program in which area youth will educate their peers through radio commercials they create. The PSAs will be developed through a city-sponsored contest for a 30-second anti-graffiti commercial. The winning PSA will run on radio and on the Web.

Keep San Antonio Beautiful will add a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design component as part of its overall anti-graffiti program. The program, called Place Light Upon Graffiti (or PLUG), will disseminate solar-powered motion detectors to businesses and homeowners who have chronic graffiti. Ten applicants will receive energy efficient lighting to improve safety and discourage graffiti vandalism.

Graffiti Hurts was developed in 1996 to respond to the blight of graffiti vandalism in communities nationwide. Graffiti contributes to lost revenue associated with reduced ridership on transit systems, reduced retail sales, and declines in property value, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

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