Newport Beach Council Awards $30k Grant To Fund Cleanup Projects

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Newport Beach City Council awarded a $30,000 grant on Tuesday to Trellis International, a Costa Mesa-based nonprofit, to help fund a pilot program that provides volunteer opportunities to people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.

Under the grant agreement, Trellis International will use the money to provide four-person volunteer teams to undertake at least eight work projects a month within Newport Beach over one year, according to a statement posted by the City of Newport Beach. Much of the grant funds would be redistributed back to the volunteer workers in the form of Visa gift cards, a representative for Trellis International said at the meeting.

This new partnership between Trellis International and the City of Newport Beach plays into the city's long-term efforts to increase volunteerism through programs such as the Community Volunteer Program maintained by the Public Works Department.

The projects may include the cleanup of beaches and Newport hiking trails, parking lots, piers and other public areas, as well as graffiti removal and landscape upkeep. Through the volunteer projects managed by Trellis' Community Impact Team, volunteers culminate job skills needed to get back into the job market and maintain employment.