WestSide Stories: Operation MyHometown revitalizing West Valley neighborhoods

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Operation MyHometown is combining city, corporate, and church resources for neighborhood revitalization in West Valley City.

500 volunteers came together Saturday to serve alongside MyHometown, helping to meet the needs of those in their community.

Mark and Jana Rupp have lived in West Valley for 18 years now and helped start this project. Serving as area directors, they say these service efforts are of great importance to their community.

“It’s a unique area of people coming from all over the world to live here,” says Mark Rupp. “Sometimes they work two or three jobs, life is not easy. They don’t have time to worry about some of these things that bring a neighborhood together.”

West Valley City is home to more than 130,000 Utahns.

“We also see incredible turnover, where people are moving in and out at a fast rate and we had a desire to make this community more united and to make it a place where people will want to stay,” says Jana Rupp.

As people serve their neighbors, the Rupps said they hope it will help build their community.

Erick Garcia spent his time serving at the park.

“Parks are a big part of the community and when you get people working in their local neighborhoods, it’s pretty noble and it ties people to their community, ties people to their neighbors,” he says.

City Manager Wayne Pile said all of these service projects build their community aesthetically, but also connect people together.

“You see the tree coming down, you see the paint happening of these houses, but what’s really happening and what’s important is happening between the neighbors and within the homes,” he says.