The City of Lomita, known to its residents as “The Friendly City,” is a community that prides itself on being a place where neighbors help neighbors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, city officials launched a campaign called “Lift Up Lomita” in hopes of amplifying and multiplying the grassroots acts of neighborliness across the community.
City officials recognized the outpouring of community support and stepped in to help facilitate and direct resources toward vulnerable community members with specific unmet needs. The city launched a campaign webpage to make it easy for residents to sign up to volunteer and for individuals in need to register. The website is also a platform for residents to share their stories of neighborly goodwill. Those stories are then shared on the city’s social media channels and newsletter.
As the “Lift Up Lomita” campaign began, council members and city employees teamed up to donate funds, water, paper goods, and other items. They assembled approximately 200 small care packages with basic necessities and delivered them to seniors and others in need in the community.
The campaign gained traction across the community, with residents continuing to lift up each other in a variety of ways. Adopting the #LiftUpLomita hashtag, the city amplified stories about households sharing homegrown fruit, children decorating sidewalks with chalk art, and restaurants donating food to medical workers. Recognizing and publicizing these community-minded acts promotes a feeling of unity among city residents and has inspired more people to join the campaign of neighborly good deeds.
Lomita community members continue to support one another during the current stage of the pandemic as facilities begin to reopen for limited use in accordance with public health guidance. And while it is still uncertain how long communities will be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions, city officials are confident the spirit of “Lift Up Lomita” will endure long after the crisis passes.