Love Lodi gears up for April event
A few weeks after Valentine’s Day, love is still in the air in Lodi.
Love Lodi organizers held a kickoff event for the 2018 event on Thursday at Oak Farm Winery.
“The website with all the projects opened up on March 1, so we had an event with city leaders, education leaders, nonprofit and church leaders to let them know all the things that are happening with Love Lodi this year,” Pastor Glen Barnes, Love Lodi chairman, said on Friday, “There was great excitement.”
Last year, 1,100 people volunteered on approximately 70 projects
This year’s event is set for April 14 and 150 volunteers have already signed up.
More than 50 projects have been planned and organizers are soliciting more.
“It seems as though people have been waiting and I’m worried I’m not going to have anything to sign up for,” Love Lodi organizer Kelly Benov said “Volunteers are coming in faster than the projects.”
According to Aaron VanNortwick, who is also a Love Lodi organizer, they usually solicit projects by talking to local leaders to find out what needs there are in the community.
Anyone with a suggestion can go to the lovelodi.org website and submit a project request, Barnes said. While organizers plan to tackle a wide array of projects, this year’s event will focus a little less on improvement projects and more on building personal relationships, including visiting senior centers and reaching out to veterans and the shut-ins.
“We’re just kind of reaching out and just serving and showing love to the community members that maybe don’t get to be visited often,” VanNortwick said.
Barnes noted that there will still be work dedicated to city and park improvements along with projects that will benefit local schools and nonprofits. Organizers also received a request from Lodi Public Works seeking volunteers to help clean up alleys around the city. There will also be several beautification projects taking place at Lodi Lake.
Some of the nonprofits Love Lodi will be partnering with include the Salvation Army, Lodi House, One-Eighty Teen Center, the Pregnancy Resource Center, Second Harvest Food Bank, St. Anne’s Place and Grace & Mercy.
“My desire is that there be long-term community pride and that people would have a lasting love for their city,” said Barnes, who added that research conducted by Love Our Cities showed that the majority of people who participate on Love Lodi Day volunteer for the organization they worked for throughout the year.
Hutchins Street Square will serve as the event host this year. A kickoff rally will be held at the park at 9 a.m. and then a free citywide picnic will be held in the park at noon to wrap up the day. Everyone is welcome. There will also be activities for people of all ages.
Love Lodi is part of a movement called Love Our Cities which began in Modesto and has grown to include cities throughout California and across the country.
This will be Lodi’s fifth Love Lodi Day. Martin Ross, former captain of the Lodi Salvation Army, served as the first chairman before Barnes took over a few years ago.