Our Daily Show Interview! Great Rivers and Routes & Pride Inc. Beautification Efforts!
ALTON – Two Alton organizations have joined forces to help promote the city and keep it beautiful with a T-shirt fundraising campaign.
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Carolyn MacAfee and Missy Kasten with Pride, Inc., joined Cory Jobe, president and CEO of the Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau on Our Daily Show! on Riverbender.com to discuss their joint venture for a good cause.
“We have been watching Pride, Inc. and their efforts downtown here … and it really is nice,” Jobe said. “To continue to attract visitors and spending in our downtown area, we’ve got to create a nice atmosphere.”
To support Pride Inc.’s ongoing community beautification efforts, they and Great Rivers & Routes have launched a new line of Alton-themed T-shirts which are only available at the Alton Visitor Center at 200 Piasa St. The center is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The new blue T-shirts feature illustrations of downtown Alton, the Piasa Bird painting, and more. Priced at $25 each, 100% of the proceeds will support Pride, Inc. as they continue to keep Alton clean and beautiful.
Jobe said they encourage Alton residents and visitors alike to buy a shirt and support the cause.
“Not only can locals come in and purchase that T-shirt, but we want visitors to purchase that T-shirt, knowing that 100% of those proceeds are going back to the community to support beautification efforts,” he said.
Jobe announced during the interview that on top of the T-shirt fundraising campaign, Great Rivers & Routes would also be donating $5,000 to Alton Pride, underscoring their support for the organization and their mission.
Citing Pride’s efforts last year to beautify one of Alton’s busiest intersections, MacAfee said that especially compared to peer communities, landscaping can make a major difference in Alton’s attractiveness to visitors.
“I have traveled to other cities, and the first thing you notice is their landscaping, their beautification,” MacAfee said. “This is a big thing for Alton, for people coming across that bridge. That’s why we did the four corners at the stoplights – when they sit there, they see nice flowers, color.
“You’d be surprised how landscaping your city makes a big difference in people who want to come here.”
Kasten added that it’s not just about attracting visitors, but also making sure Altonians can be proud of the city they call home.
“You want people who live here to be proud of their community,” Kasten said, adding beautification can lead to lower crime rates, higher property values, and more. “It all comes back to loving where you live.”
To learn more about the T-shirt fundraiser for Pride, Inc., check out the full interview with Jobe, MacAfee, and Kasten at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
