Love Your Block: From idea to impact
Sweat on my brow. Dirt under my fingernails. Mulch in my boots. And a smile on my face. That is how the work of community often begins. One neighbor. One shovel. One idea. One block at a time.
At the Glendale Community Learning Center, I was welcomed with open arms when this work first began on my very first Love Your Block mini-grant project. I was still a student then, unsure of where my own community truly lay. Little did I know that planting seeds in that garden would lead me to planting seeds of connection across Salt Lake City and, ultimately, help me find my own sense of belonging.
Back then, Arturo Canela, Partnership Manager at the Glendale Community Learning Center, applied for a Love Your Block mini-grant to enhance the existing garden by the center. It was already a space where neighbors, families, and students came together. With support from The Home Depot Foundation, the project replaced two aging sheds with a new Tuff Shed and provided updated tools and materials for community use, new landscaping, and new seating.
But what truly transformed the space was not the new shed or tools; it was the people who showed up. The mothers of the community, who have always been the backbone of this neighborhood, arrived with gloves on and sleeves rolled up. Between tending to children, sharing food, and swapping stories, they worked side by side to strengthen a place that already reflected their care. Their energy made it clear that this garden was more than soil and seedlings — it was a living example of what happens when a community is led by the people who nurture it every day.
Since 2022, 39 projects around the city have been funded and completed using grants through Love Your Block. Photo by Ashley Detrick, photographer from the Salt Lake City Mayor's office.
That project’s roots ran deep. It showed what can happen when residents, city staff, and community partners work together toward a shared goal. It proved that when neighbors take the lead, especially the mothers, caregivers, and quiet organizers who hold our communities together, even modest funding and volunteer effort can transform a space and spark something larger.
Since 2021, Love Your Block has supported neighborhood improvement projects led by residents across the Westside and Ballpark neighborhoods. Originally funded through the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation, the program became a full-time city initiative in 2023 thanks to Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s support through the general fund investment.
But these projects are not possible without YOU. Yes, you — the neighbor reading this, the one thinking about that vacant lot you would love to see turned into a pocket park. Or maybe it is that wall you pass every day with your kids and your dog, imagining it brought to life with color and creativity. Or maybe you have thought about adding a little library to your street to share stories with your neighbors.
Your ideas, your energy, and your willingness to act are what make Love Your Block possible. It is your vision that turns ordinary spaces into places where neighbors connect, youth learn, and communities thrive. Every shovel, every brushstroke, every volunteer hour helps turn a simple idea into something lasting.
Love Your Block accepts applications for mini-grants in the months of May and November to help residents bring their ideas to life. Photo by Ashley Detrick, photographer from the Salt Lake City Mayor's office.
Since the beginning of Love Your Block in Salt Lake City, we have tracked the work that residents and volunteers have done together. Every number tells a story. Neighbors rolling up their sleeves, transforming spaces, and making our community stronger one block at a time.
4,163 volunteer hours contributed by 1,246 neighbors
62 art displays bringing color and creativity to our streets
102,523 pounds of trash removed across 207 acres of neighborhood space
37 repairs completed and 248 new features added to parks, gardens, and public spaces
47 activation events connecting neighbors and building community
$128,000 in donations/funds leveraged
Earlier this year, Club Try-Angles received a mini grant from Love Your Block so they could create a mural to honor and elevate the local LGBTQ+ community. Photo by Ashley Detrick, photographer from the Salt Lake City Mayor's office.
Across these last forty or so projects over the past three and a half years, I can confirm that every project starts the same way: a neighbor with an idea and the courage to act. Maybe that neighbor is you.
Love Your Block accepts applications for mini-grants in the months of May and November to help residents bring their ideas to life. From transforming a vacant lot, adding art to a blank wall, building a garden, or organizing a cleanup, this is your chance to make a visible difference on your block.
Not ready to apply? You can still be part of the work! Join a volunteer event, lend a hand on another project, or share this opportunity with a neighbor whose idea deserves to grow. Every helping hand, every hour, every conversation adds to the shared story of our neighborhoods. Together we can keep planting seeds of connection across Salt Lake City.
