Love Our Cities: How a city-wide volunteer day can unite and transform your community

by Jeff Pishney, Jung

Overview

Love Our Cities operates from a simple idea: come alongside those who want to make a difference in their cities so they can come alongside individuals in their communities to make things better. 

Founding members of the nonprofit organization Love Our Cities, Jeff Pishney and Eric Jung have seen how a city-wide volunteer day can catalyze community improvement—by engaging individuals with the city they inhabit. Each chapter of Love Our Cities addresses their method behind the madness, why it works, and the practical next steps that anyone can use to kick off city-wide volunteer efforts.

Jeff Pishney and Eric Jung understand that the best way to support a community is to meet the specific needs of that area. By using their past experiences investing in Modesto and other cities, they provide a clear, actionable approach to enact city-wide change. Their volunteer days have been uniquely successful in connecting ongoing initiatives, building networks, and growing community buy-in for programs and organizations already on the ground. 

Their message in Love Our Cities is broken into four parts:

• Part One depicts their journey from the initial Love Modesto efforts in 2009 to the 100-some cities participating in their Love Our Cities network in 2020 
• Part Two explains at the elements that are necessary to know prior to any community engagement, in order to create a solid foundation for long-term success
• Part Three examines the “nuts and bolts” of running a city-wide volunteer day
• Part Four takes it to the next level—describing how successful city-wide volunteer days have changed the game and outlining what a year-round city movement might look like
  

By shining a spotlight on the cities they’ve partnered with over the years, Jeff Pishney and Eric Jung hope that their community-minded approach in Love Our Cities encourages readers to dream about their own city’s potential—and how they can make a difference.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781636980140
Publisher:	Morgan James Publishing
Publication date:	04/11/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Jeff Pishney grew up in Iowa, attended college and graduate school in Virginia and has lived in Modesto, California since 1995. Prior to founding Love Modesto (now Love Stanislaus County) and Love Our Cities, Jeff was a pastor for almost 20 years at Big Valley Grace Community Church. His vision to impact the community grew beyond his roles as a College Pastor and Outreach Pastor, which ultimately led to Love Modesto becoming a nonprofit organization in 2014.

Love Modesto’s city-wide volunteer days have spawned a movement reaching over 100 cities and 225,000 volunteers since beginning in 2009. Jeff recognizes that more sustainable solutions are needed beyond volunteer days in order to see our cities thrive. Through his leadership, Love Modesto and Love Our Cities have become hubs for community engagement in cities across the United States. His efforts have evolved to championing ongoing volunteerism, collaboration among leaders and initiating the local efforts of Love Our Neighbors, Love Our Schools, Love Our Kids and Love Our Seniors.

Jeff and his wife, Karen, have been married for 18 years and have three children. Besides loving his family, Jeff is involved at his children's activities, passionate about social justice issues and cheering on his Iowa Hawkeyes.

Eric Jung is a founding board member of Love Our Cities—the first person Jeff Pishney hired to support and scale the movement. As City Engagement Director for Love Our Cities, Eric has solidified the nonprofit’s infrastructure in order to support hundreds of city-wide volunteer days. He helped create contractual relationships with city, county, and other nonprofit organizations to provide long term funding for Love Our Neighbors, Love Our Schools, and Love ALL Our Kids.  During the onset of COVID, Eric coordinated efforts across all sectors of our county to create overnight an online clearinghouse for people needing food delivered to them and people wanting to volunteer.

In addition to his roles with Love Our Cities, Eric also serves as the Vice President of Policy for Titan Solar Power, the largest privately held residential solar installer in the US. His undergraduate degree in Business Finance and Seminary Degree in Theology and Leadership have shaped his professional and ministerial journey, giving him a passion for the Church’s role in community outreach. A California native, having previously lived in the Bay Area and San Diego, Eric currently resides in the Central Valley with his his wife, Kara, and their five children, ranging from 3-13 years in age.