Port St. Lucie highlights Love Your Block year one: mini grants, volunteers and plans to expand

Port St. Lucie officials on Dec. 1 presented a year‑in‑review of the Love Your Block neighborhood mini‑grant program, describing volunteer‑led cleanups, small infrastructure projects and community‑driven public‑space work in the Whispering Pines neighborhood.

Stephanie Verneau, the city’s community engagement manager, introduced the program presentation and a video that preceded remarks from Renata Confante of the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins. Confante described Love Your Block as a coaching‑plus‑grant model that pairs technical assistance with mini grants; she said participating cities receive staff funding and coaching to scale resident‑led neighborhood projects.

Melissa Eunice, a member of the city Love Your Block team, led the local year‑end report. She told the council the program engaged volunteers across multiple projects — mini libraries, park benches, tree plantings, neighborhood cleanups and home‑repair assistance — and that the city has spent just over $44,000 from the program so far. Eunice said the initial Bloomberg award to Port St. Lucie was $100,000 and the city recently received an additional $60,000 to fund staffing and more mini grants for year two.

Eunice highlighted specific projects and partners: installation of two little free libraries, installation of five trees and 29 new features or repairs, volunteer cleanup events (including involvement by the Treasure Coast High School Key Club), and a partnership with Nature’s Keeper. She praised partnerships with Habitat for Humanity and a local doors contractor that helped install a replacement door for a recipient whose application initially exceeded the mini‑grant budget.

Diane Matthews, a mini‑grant recipient, thanked city staff and partners after the meeting, saying the new door and follow‑on volunteer cleanup had a meaningful effect on her household and neighborhood. "I cannot thank Melissa, Stephanie, and Victoria enough," Matthews said.

Council members asked about selection criteria and future neighborhoods. Staff said Whispering Pines was selected based on census‑tract eligibility tied to grant requirements but that the list of eligible tracts has grown, which creates options to expand the program into other neighborhoods. Council members suggested building a list of ready projects for volunteer groups (Eagle Scouts, City University students) and authorized staff to work with the city manager on program expansion ideas between meetings.

What’s next

City staff and Bloomberg Center coaches will meet in a strategic planning session to shape year‑two implementation. The council approved staff direction to pursue additional neighborhood engagement and to explore partnerships and volunteer pipelines without returning every idea to a future council agenda.