2025 Alma Park Neighbors Accomplishments
Hello neighbors,
As 2025 came to an end, the Alma Park Neighbors coordinators gathered to reflect on another year of caring for Alma Park and strengthening connections throughout the neighborhood. Once again, a small but dedicated group of neighbors made meaningful progress through consistency, collaboration, and community spirit.
Consistency and Engagement
As in years past, consistency was one of the first things that stood out during our annual reflection. Monthly meetings were held throughout the year, with average attendance holding steady at 18 neighbors. Even more encouraging was the number of new visitors who joined us in 2025, showing continued interest in the group.
Rain or shine, Alma Park Neighbors had our community gathering every single month.
Our communication efforts also remained strong. The Alma Park Neighbors website saw 866 unique visitors over the course of the year, and the monthly newsletter continued to keep neighbors informed and connected, reaching more than 100 readers each month.
Community Events
Community gatherings continued to be at the heart of our work. The Annual Alma Park Picnic once again brought neighbors together, welcoming 155 people to the park for food, conversation, and connection.
Neighbors and community leaders come together for a day of shared food and fun in Alma Park every year for the picnic.
The year also introduced new traditions. We hosted our first-ever Halloween Harvest Event, which brought over 50 neighbors together, and later in the year neighbors gathered for a Christmas Cookie Swap to close out the year. Alma Park Neighbors also participated in the LAPD Harbor Division’s first Trunk or Treat event, helping bring joy to children and families in the larger community.
Families gathered in the park for our first ever Halloween Harvest!
Alma Park Neighbors supporting the Los Angeles Police Department’s Trunk or Treat!
In addition to these events, Alma Park Neighbors celebrated a major milestone by marking five years as a neighborhood group. Reflecting the impact of this work, several volunteers were recognized by the Council District 15 office and the LAPD at two separate events for their contributions to community engagement and the continued improvement of neighborhood safety.
Strong community support through volunteering brought the annual Alma Park Picnic to life.
Park and Neighborhood Care
Throughout the year, Alma Park Neighbors remained focused on maintaining the park and surrounding neighborhood. Volunteers facilitated vandalism removal in the park 20 times, helping address graffiti and damage as quickly as possible. Overall vandalism levels held steady compared to the previous year, reflecting continued progress in monitoring and response. Through persistence and coordination with city partners, ongoing progress was made in addressing recurring issues.
Dedicated neighbors gather monthly to deep clean the park, and there are multiple mini-cleanups throughout the week.
Monthly cleanups continued to make a visible difference, with volunteers removing large amounts of trash, including one cleanup that removed 15 gallons of trash and another that removed 30 gallons along with two abandoned shopping carts.
Emergency Preparedness
Actors and members of the Community Emergency Response Team prepared volunteers to practice responding to an emergency in our Zombie Drill.
Emergency preparedness remained an important focus in 2025. The group conducted a Zombie CERT emergency drill in November, continuing a multi-year effort to build neighborhood response capacity. Participation and coordination improved compared to previous years, helping strengthen readiness in the event of a disaster.
Looking Ahead to 2026
As the year concluded, planning discussions began for 2026. Early steps were taken toward a mural project for the park shed, conversations began around ways to support the group’s continued growth and long-term sustainability, and ideas were discussed for expanding emergency preparedness and community programming. We look ahead with excitement to the 2026 Annual Alma Park Picnic and the opportunity to build on the success of this year’s gathering.
Closing Thoughts
Everything accomplished in 2025 was made possible by neighbors who showed up to meetings, cleanups, drills, and events. Alma Park Neighbors remains a dedicated group, five years strong, working together to keep the park and neighborhood clean, safe, and welcoming.
As 2025 came to a close, we remained grateful for this community and looked ahead to 2026 with excitement. We hope to continue growing the group, finding new ways to bring neighbors together, and strengthening our sense of community. We look forward to another year of connection and hope you will join us in the year ahead.
If you’d like to stay connected, we invite you to join our group and sign up for our newsletter at https://www.almaparkneighbors.org/newsletters. Neighbors interested in volunteering or getting more involved are always welcome to reach out to us at https://www.almaparkneighbors.org/contact. And for those who wish to support our work in other ways, donations can be made at https://www.almaparkneighbors.org/donate.
