In April, Provo’s MyHometown Initiative (MHI) will be celebrating its first anniversary.
MHI, a pilot program that was first started in West Valley City, has been operating in the Pioneer Park and South Freedom areas with three areas of focus:
1) Community Resource Center (CRC): During this year of operation, the following classes and activities have been offered: English as a second language (ESL), Financial Skills, Computer Skills, Personal Wellness, Care for Seniors, Basic Coding, Boys Soccer, Art, Community Resource Introduction (Immigration, Start Your Own Business, etc.), Kindergarten Preparation, Toddler Playgroups, Tutoring, Circles, Piano, and 4-H. There have been 664 people attend the CRC with over 200 graduates from the ESL and Computer Skills Courses.
2) Days of Service (DOS): There have been 66 Days of Service projects which included painting, yard clean-up, landscaping, community garden clean-up, tree removal, fence repairs, etc. These service projects are planned and organized by MyHometown Initiative volunteers together with the neighborhood residents, block captains, and Provo City. Residents who can, will pay for the materials for projects on their property. If they are unable to pay, volunteers will rally to help to procure donated materials, equipment and expertise.
3) Social Events: Throughout the year the MHI hosts various social events to help bring neighbors together to get to know each other. These events have included: movie night, block parties, pool parties, barbecues, family fun night at the park, etc. There have been six social activities which have had over 3,700 people participate.
The MyHometown Initiative has been successful because of the dedicated volunteers. As of January 2023, we have over 32,148 hours of service donated for our events, Community Resource Center, and Days of Service.
The MyHometown initiative is not only addressing improvement to the exterior of people’s homes through home repair and beautification projects, but also improving relationships and resiliency inside the homes by offering opportunities for learning and relationship building at the CRC.
To learn more, visit: www.provo.org/community/my-hometown-initiative