There are many different volunteer opportunities in Long Beach that give back to the community. From “Foods not Bombs” to “Green Long Beach.” It seems like there are so many different groups to join that it can be overwhelming to choose which one you want to spend your valuable time committing to. There is currently a program in Long Beach called the Neighborhood Leadership Program (NLP) that operates out of the Neighborhood Resource Center over on 4th and Atlantic in Long Beach California.
The Neighborhood Leadership Program is offered by the City of Long Beach Neighborhood Services Bureau. This five (5) month multilingual program assists grassroots residents and provides you with the skills, knowledge and resources you need to make a difference in the quality of life in our community. This program is free to participants and is partially funded through the Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program – City of Long Beach Website
I have had the pleasure of participating in this program for the last 4 months. The thing that is interesting about this program is that you are randomly put into groups of people with an extremely diverse background, age group, philosophy and personalities. For a lot of people including myself, it makes you confront how well you actually work in a group, and are able to be flexible, and be a true team player.
Your Group is given a project to complete in a certain part of the city. The groups have to apply for grants, gather volunteers, petition the neighborhood and make sure that their project will not only be successfull on the day of launch, but also something that the neighborhood themselves are actively engaged in maintaining after completion.
There are 4 different groups that are all split up with projects like trash cleanups, health fairs, garden plating, and tree planting. All of the projects this year are taking place in the Santa Fe Corridor which is in West Long Beach nestled between the Port of Long Beach and the 103 freeway. This area of town is often forgotten by most Long Beachians!
A current group of participants this year calling themselves “Trees Please” are undertaking a tree planting in this neighborhood. Freeway connections have high levels of air pollutants from traffic, and trees function as a natural air filter, improving air quality. More trees in this area improves not only curb appeal for homeowners and businesses, but improves the quality of health and life for residents.
Team “Trees Please” plans on meeting at Hudson Park located on Hill & Webster right next to the 103 freeway and planting 20 Purple Orchid Trees in the surrounding neighborhood. The reason why the Purple Orchid tree was chosed is because they are low maintenence, drought tolerant, low cost, and beautiful.
Purple Orchid Tree
“I have committed myself to the Neighborhood Leadership Program because I believe that our neighborhoods need more people that are willing to volunteer their time to improving our community. this group has pushed me, and made me realize profound things about myself and my ability to work with a group of people that are extremely diverse, and very different than me” stated Ronnie Sandlin participant in the 2011 Neighborhood Leadership Program
If this seems like a project you may be interested in please contact Dawn at (562) 313-1291. They are meeting at Hudson Park Saturday July 30th 2011. They will be providing free food and beverages for volunteers. They will provide all of the necessary gardening equipment, however if you have your own it may be a good idea to bring it. This is a good opportunity to be out in the summer sun, be around other community minded people, and give back the the city that you love.
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