City of Long Beach Announces Awardees for Love Your Block Mini-Grant Program

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PRESS RELEASE

Above: City staff and community partners welcome Love Your Block mini-grant awardees at a Love Your Block Mini-Grant Kickoff Meeting held at Silverado Park Community Center in December 2025.

Long Beach, CA - The City of Long Beach Office of Civic Innovation has selected the community project awardees for the Love Your Block mini grant program, a community-driven initiative that empowers residents to take action and enhance their neighborhoods, with the focus for the inaugural year in West Long Beach. Five selected awardees will receive up to $2,500 in grant funding to support projects addressing air quality and transportation efficiency for residents, especially youth and older adults, in the 90810 zip code.

"The Love Your Block program puts residents in the driver's seat of neighborhood change," said Mayor Rex Richardson. "By investing in resident-led ideas, we're building solutions that reflect the lived experience of West Long Beach and strengthening community connections in lasting, meaningful ways."

In its first year, Love Your Block focuses on projects that support the City's Westside Promise Initiative, a 10-year community investment plan to address current and historic challenges facing West Long Beach, through the alignment of existing City efforts, strategic partnerships and investments.

Each of the five selected resident-led initiatives will receive mini-grant funding and direct support from City staff to plan and implement their initiatives by March 2026.

Selected initiatives and awarded projects include:

• Legacy in Bloom -Community youth led tree planting and clean-up initiative engaging local support from West Long Beach schools and residents to improve air quality and neighborhood pride.
• Breath of Fresh Air - Promoting cleaner air and respiratory health through educational sessions regarding diesel awareness for West Long Beach residents and encourage a vape trade-in for air purifiers.
• Community Bee Apiary -A new community led bee sanctuary located in West Long Beach will focus on supporting plant health, contributing to cleaner air with urban beekeeping, and educational resources.
• Westside Clean & Green - West Long Beach community led neighborhood clean-up to address urban decay and promote safer, walkable streets and provide plant and air purifier giveaways for participation.
• Community Garden - A new green space and community garden providing fresh produce and wellness programming to promote healthy eating, mindfulness, and outdoor education for local residents of all ages in West Long Beach.

On Dec. 3, 2025, City staff hosted the Love Your Block Mini-Grant Kickoff meeting, where they welcomed and onboarded this year's five community grant awardees. The event marked the start of the 2025 Love Your Block project cycle and provided an opportunity for staff and community partners to connect with the grantees.

"The impactful initiatives Westside residents are leading, not only enhance their environment, but also foster community engagement and pride. By promoting cleaner air and addressing safety and quality of life outcomes, we are paving the way for a brighter, healthier future for all residents," said Lea Eriksen, Director of the Technology and Innovation Department.

The Love Your Block team will work closely with each awardee to support project implementation, connect awardees with appropriate City departments and resources, and ensure alignment with City policies and community goals.

In February 2025, the City, in partnership with Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University, launched the City's inaugural Love Your Block program Following the application period, which ran Aug. 27 to Sept. 26, 2025, the Office of Civic Innovation led the project selection process, which included a panel comprised of City staff, and candidates were scored and selected for their proposed projects that support reducing exposure to poor indoor and outdoor air quality; promoting clean air education, behavior and tools; enhancing pedestrian, bicycle and rolling safety; and/or building community capacity to advocate for street and environmental improvements.

Residents interested in applying for future rounds of Love Your Block mini-grants are encouraged to follow updates on the Office of Civic Innovation webpage. More information about the Westside Promise is available at longbeach.gov/wsp.

About the City of Long Beach
Long Beach is nestled along the Southern California coast and home to approximately 466,000 people. As an award-winning full-service charter city, Long Beach offers the amenities of a metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods, culture and community. With a bustling downtown and over six miles of scenic beaches, Long Beach is a renowned tourist and business destination and home to the iconic Queen Mary, nationally recognized Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach Airport, award-winning Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and world-class Port of Long Beach.

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

About Love Your Block
Originally launched in 2009 by Cities of Service, Love Your Block is a signature initiative of the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University. The program strengthens civic engagement and provides direct support to residents tackling neighborhood challenges.

Past Love Your Block projects include home repairs for residents, public art and mural installations, park and playground enhancements, tree plantings and community gardens and clean-up and beautification efforts.

By fostering collaboration between residents and City leaders, the program helps build trust, enhance public spaces, and improve overall neighborhood well-being.

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