A community service group · Est. 2026 · Ventura, CA

Neighbors building a better Ventura.

Serve Ventura is a community service group of residents who organize volunteers, donors, and supporters around the public places we share. We start with one project, do it well, and keep going.

Add your name → Volunteer with us →
See our founding project
508
Community supporters — growing
1
Founding project — Camino Real Park
5+
Local partners working alongside us
∞
More to come, project by project
Working alongside
City of Ventura Parks & Recreation Ventura Tennis Club United States Tennis Association (USTA) Southern California Ventura Community Partners Foundation Surfrider Ventura County
Our mission

A standing group of neighbors, ready to show up.

We are residents who love this city and want to roll up our sleeves. Our role is simple: support, organize, and amplify, working with the City of Ventura and the partners who are already doing the work.

01

Show up

Volunteer hours on the ground. Beach cleanups, garden maintenance, planting days, painting days. Tangible work, every month.

02

Connect

We bring neighbors, nonprofits, and City staff into the same room. Most of the hard work has already been planned; our job is to help it cross the finish line.

03

Fund & champion

Where projects need a community match, fundraising support, or a friendly public push, we help carry the load.

Founding project

Camino Real Park Tennis & Pickleball Courts.

A beloved Ventura park that the City is actively working to renovate. We are organizing the community support that helps the project cross the finish line.

Camino Real Park has been the home of public tennis in Ventura for generations. The City of Ventura has identified the courts as a priority capital project, partnered with Pacific Coast Land Design (PCLD) on a renovation plan, and is pursuing California Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant support to bring it to construction.

Serve Ventura is organizing community volunteers, donors, and supporters to help close the funding gap, surface community demand, and make sure this long-running effort gets across the finish line. New courts, pickleball capacity, lighting, and fencing are all on the table.

City plan
Approved
Design partner
PCLD
Funding path
State LWCF
Our role
Community match
A worn playing surface at the Camino Real Park tennis courts, the home of public tennis in Ventura for generations
Camino Real Park — the home of public tennis in Ventura for generations. Restoring it to full, safe play is the heart of our founding project.
Working with the City

Partnering with the City of Ventura.

The renovation is the City's project, and a good one. Our role is to help it succeed: visible community backing, volunteer energy, and support for the funding it needs to break ground.

In June 2025, the Ventura City Council authorized the City to resubmit its Camino Real Park application to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a federal grant program administered in California by State Parks. The Council approved that step without recorded opposition, and the City's Parks, Recreation and Community Partnerships department, working with design partner Pacific Coast Land Design (PCLD), has kept the renovation plan ready to build.

In April 2026, California State Parks recommended 18 local park projects statewide for LWCF grants out of 128 that applied. Camino Real Park was not among the projects recommended in that cycle. That outcome is common for an oversubscribed program in which requests ran to more than 332 million dollars against 42.6 million dollars available. The work now is straightforward: help the City come back stronger on the next application and keep the project shovel-ready.

Source: California State Parks, LWCF grant recommendations, April 29, 2026. City funding figures from the City of Ventura June 2025 staff report.

Grant applications score better with demonstrated community support. That is exactly what the signature list is for.
The funding stack
Total project (2025 estimate)~$8.4M
State grant requested (LWCF)~$4.2M
City match, appropriated on award~$4.2M
How we help the City's plan succeed
  • Show up in support at public meetings so the project's community backing is on the record.
  • Help organize community match contributions that strengthen the City's funding stack.
  • Convene partners — the Ventura Tennis Club, USTA Southern California, and the Ventura Community Partners Foundation — around one shared push.
  • Run volunteer days that keep momentum visible between grant cycles.
Why this matters

Public courts are one of the most accessible and beneficial resources a city can offer.

9.7 yrs
Added life expectancy from regular tennis — more than any other sport studied.
40%
Of U.S. tennis players are people of color — public courts make the sport accessible.
< $100
Total cost to start playing on a public court — one of the most affordable sports in America.
170,000+
Young people served by Arthur Ashe's NJTL program — the kind of programming public courts make possible.

Tennis is a great equalizer. A racket costs $50, a can of balls costs $4, and a public court is free. Venus and Serena Williams learned on public courts in Compton. Arthur Ashe learned on public courts in Richmond.

When a city maintains accessible public courts, kids and families who would never set foot in a private club get to play the same game.

The research is consistent. Tennis adds nearly a decade to life expectancy. It correlates with better grades, lower juvenile delinquency, and stronger character development. It is preventive medicine for mental health. Camino Real Park has been the home of public tennis in Ventura for generations, and getting it back to full operation is a project worth showing up for.

Sources: USTA 2025 U.S. Tennis Participation Report · Copenhagen City Heart Study, Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2018 · Women's Sports Foundation · USTA Foundation 2024

Stand with us

Add your name.

Every signature shows the state and the City that this project has strong community backing behind its grant application.

Community signature

Sign on in support of the Camino Real Park renovation

A coordinated community voice helps the City secure funding and move the project to construction. Add your name. Share with a neighbor.

—
of 1,000
community signatures
Volunteer with us

Lend a hand at an upcoming workday.

Adding your name is one way to help. Showing up is another. We are lining up our first community workdays now — garden mornings, cleanups, and pre-construction prep at the park. Join the volunteer list and we will reach out with dates and locations as they are set. No experience needed, all ages welcome.

Join the volunteer list → Offer a skill or trade →
About

The neighbors behind Serve Ventura.

Jeremy Tuite, founder of Serve Ventura
Jeremy · Ventura

Jeremy Tuite

Founder
Serve Ventura started with one park and one project. It is growing into something bigger because Ventura is the kind of place that deserves it.

This is a community I love. I have watched neighbors show up for each other for years, and I wanted to put that energy to work on the public places we all share. The Camino Real Park courts were a clear starting point: a beloved spot the City has been working to renovate, and a project where a coordinated group of residents can genuinely move the ball forward.

From there, the plan is to keep going. Community gardens. The river trail. Beach cleanups. Historic sites. Anywhere Ventura needs a steady set of hands and a willingness to show up.

Jeremy · Ventura, California
We wish something better for our community, with your support we can make that happen.
Ventura Tennis Club · January 2022 letter to City Council
What's next

Beyond the courts — Ventura civic work we are exploring.

If you care about one of these, get in touch. That is how the next chapter gets written.

Parks

Community gardens

Cornucopia, Kellogg, and Westpark community gardens always need hands. Organizing regular Serve Ventura volunteer days.

Get involved →
Trails

Ventura River Trail

The City's River Trail improvements connect neighborhoods to the coast. Community days for cleanup, planting, and trail-side beautification.

Get involved →
Coast

Beach & marina cleanups

Joining the regular Marina Park and beach cleanup rhythm already organized by Surfrider and Ventura Suburban Kiwanis.

Get involved →
Heritage

Rose gardens & historic sites

The rose gardens at Historic Olivas Adobe and Barranca Vista Park rely on volunteer pruning. Small, meaningful, recurring work.

Get involved →
Play

Marina Park playground

The City's new Marina Park playground build is an opportunity to organize a Serve Ventura opening-day community celebration.

Get involved →
You tell us

Your project here

If there is a Ventura public space, program, or neighborhood need you would champion, write to us. We are listening.

Reach out →

Join us.

Volunteer for a workday. Lend your trade or expertise. Contribute to a project match. Suggest the next thing we should take on. Every kind of help moves Ventura forward.

Get in touch →