Lemon Grove nonprofit revitalizes Broadway corridor

Since forming in 2024, the nonprofit Revitalize Broadway has rallied Lemon Grove residents to beautify parks and sidewalks, secured grant funding and caroled for the holidays. It was, as one of the group’s co-chairs said, a call to “shift thinking from wishfulness to action.”

The group was founded in collaboration with the public health organization Institute for Public Strategies with the primary purpose of concentrating on the environment of Lemon Grove.

“There was such a large group of people who wanted to see the community improve,” said Minola Clark Manson, one of five co-chairs of the nonprofit.

The group chose to focus on Lemon Grove’s Broadway corridor because it is highly popular with residents and is viewed as vital to the community, Manson said. Despite that, she said, the area was in decline.

A desire to increase a sense of belonging and safety in Lemon Grove is what caused the group to form, Manson said. It doesn’t want to change or “gentrify” the community, Manson noted, but to “revitalize it.”

The nonprofit meets once a month and regularly hosts events throughout Lemon Grove. In the year since its formation, the group has hosted two Christmas carols; held bi-weekly cleanups on Broadway; rallied residents to walk their dogs in the business corridor; weeded and placed new native plants at Promenade Park; encouraged the community to dine out on Broadway and more.

Membership is open to any Lemon Grove resident, and there are no requirements to be a part of the group, Manson said.

“You don’t have to establish your loyalty or your commitment in some way for your input to have value,” Manson said. “That’s how community works. It solidifies what we are, and who we are, by our actions.”

The group’s movement to beautify Broadway and to encourage community engagement earned Lemon Grove a Clean California Community title, which paved the way for access to grant funding.

Manson said the nonprofit has been highly effective for many reasons, but a large part of that is thanks to their cooperative approach, one that underscored community desires and started with small efforts that could come into fruition in a short time.

By taking small steps to get residents involved and improve the sense of safety, Manson said she hopes a strong sense of community will return to the city.

One aspect that sets this group apart from others is its focus on civic engagement and educating members on local government.

During its December meeting, the group discussed operations at City Hall and how members could be most effective in discussions with the city or to rally community support for their issues.

“For the community to make any changes that are lasting within Lemon Grove, we need to have a collaboration with all aspects of the city,” Manson said. “This includes the city government, city staff, the people of Lemon Grove, the businesses and some of the county.”

For example, Manson said the group hopes to get Christmas decorations put up on the Broadway corridor in the future.

Ideas like that and others will come into fruition much quicker if the group communicates plans with the city, she said, while also giving the city an opportunity to “boast.”

“The more we inform the citizenry about what needs to happen, the more effective we are going to be,” Manson said.