Lodi mayor introduces ‘Love Your Block’

Community campaign aims to bring improvements to city’s Eastside neighborhoods

Mayor Doug Kuehne introduced the public to the “Love Your Block” campaign after being named the new Mayor of Lodi on Wednesday night. The initiative aims to help revitalize the Eastside of Lodi, also known as the Heritage District.

“Love Your Block is a community initiative that I’m heading up in partnership with the City of Lodi Neighborhood Services Department and the Lodi Chamber of Commerce,” Kuehne said. “The goal is to improve the Heritage District and support citizen-driven community improvement projects. As a result of my asset-based community development training, along with a whole bunch of other people I found out that it is clear that the Heritage District could use some help. We will have transformation in this area guided by people who live there.”

According to Lodi Chamber of Commerce director of communications Carmen Ross, the “Love Your Block” campaign is an effort to bring community outreach programs in the Heritage District to the forefront.

“The idea behind the initiative follows the asset-based community development model. Instead of looking at the deficiencies and needs of the Heritage District, we want to look at the skills and the talents of those who live within the Heritage District,” Kuehne said. “We will find support for community development projects in the Heritage District using those skills and talents of the citizens.”

Currently, there are six projects in the works, including community gardens, a youth-to-job pipeline, a BMX bike track and college admissions help for high school students project. The projects originated from a workshop held in September. The hope is for the projects to debut sometime around Love Lodi Day in April.

Fundraising for this initiative will begin in the beginning of the year to provide mini grants, resources and support for needed projects. Ross said the projects are determined by those in the Heritage District, but there will be category guidelines — including beautification, crime prevention and neighborhood pride — for receiving funding.

“The objective is to see the Heritage District revitalized one block at a time and the idea is to see that revitalization by community improvement projects. We want to increase civic participation in the heritage district and neighborhood revitalization within that area,” Ross said.

According to Ross, engaged communities are less likely to let the community fall into poor conditions and acts as a powerful force preventing crime and creating a sustainable community.

More information on the campaign will be coming in the new year, Ross said.