Third Annual City-Wide Service Day, Love Laguna Beach, Takes Place on, Oct. 5
Love Laguna Beach is an example of what happens when an entire community comes together to help one another through volunteer service projects: non-profits, faith-based communities, organizations, city government, service groups and schools. This year’s city-wide volunteer day kicks off at 8 a.m. on Saturday, October 5 at Susi Q Community Center, where coffee and refreshments will be served while volunteers meet their service teams. Volunteers will then depart to work on projects throughout Laguna Beach from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Inspired by Love Our Cities and in partnership with this national organization, Love Laguna Beach is now in its third year of serving the community of Laguna Beach. Love Our Cities, which originated in Modesto, has grown into a world-wide, inter-generational movement in which 272,000 people have generously donated over 1.2 million hours of volunteerism. Through Love Laguna Beach, volunteers of all ages who want to make a difference in the city can work alongside one another to make their community better. As an example, it is truly inspiring to see so many of our students from Laguna Beach High School get excited to participate in and develop projects of their own. Over 200 volunteers in total worked on 13 service projects in 2023.
Volunteers will have an opportunity to work together on numerous service projects throughout Laguna Beach. The following projects represent just a few examples of the many ways in which we can collectively make a positive contribution in our city: public garden beautifications; beach clean-ups; assembling Halloween treat bags and sorting food donations for Laguna Food Pantry; Boys and Girls Club refurbishments; preparing and serving brunch at the Friendship Shelter; serving our local Youth Shelter; beautification of the Laguna Day Worker Center; and a creative project at Glenwood.
“In meeting the specific needs of our city with this type of community-minded approach, Love Laguna Beach has become a catalyst to connect members of our community with opportunities to serve together side by side with other individuals focused on making a significant impact. This generates additional civic pride and a collective sense of purpose,” said Gail Onodera, event chairperson for the third consecutive year. “There is no other event like this in Laguna Beach that so passionately illustrates the love we have for our city and people. Love Laguna Beach brings people together to connect, participate, give of their time, and serve this place that we are so fortunate to call home.
Love Laguna Beach has provided such a great way for younger citizens to develop strong, community-wide connections at an early age that will hopefully instill in them a desire to give back to their community in the future. It is also a way that Laguna Beach residents of all ages can connect with City of Laguna Beach government leaders and those who protect our beautiful city, such as the Laguna Beach Police Department. We couldn’t be more pleased or more grateful for the selfless participation of all those involved, including faith-based organizations, the Laguna Beach Rotary Club, Sally’s Fund and KXFM for helping us to once more make this day a tremendous success.”
New projects are being added each week. Visit lovelagunabeach.org, where you can learn more about the projects and register to volunteer.
For more information, contact gonodera@lagunaprechurch.org.
