More than 300 people from Campbell and San Jose communities came together on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16 to beautify a neighborhood park.

Volunteers from schools, nonprofit organizations and city employees rolled up their sleeves, donned bright green and orange vests on the chilly Monday morning to beautify San Tomas Park, a San Jose park located on Valerie Drive in Campbell. Residents of the neighborhood, the Starbird Community Center, and service groups such as Campbell Rotary Club and Tzu Chi Foundation also lent helping hands to rake leaves and plant trees.

According to Bob Carlson, who helped organize the event along with the city of San Jose, volunteers spread 125 yards of Fibar onto the playgrounds, trimmed back ivy and planted 45 rosebushes.

The event was the second such collaboration between the two cities. The park is managed by the city of San Jose and is surrounded by both cities.

“It’s great to see such a large turnout,” Carlson said. “We chose San Tomas Park since it’s surrounded by Campbell on three sides.”

Assemblyman Evan Low, the Home Church and the city of Campbell provided snacks and beverages for volunteers. Low kicked off the clean-up with words of encouragement to volunteers of all ages.

“It’s great to see so many young people out here this morning,” he said.

The event saw more than double the participation from the prior year, according to Low.

Students in attendance represented Monroe Middle School in the Campbell Union School District, Westmont and Branham high schools from the Campbell Union High School District, Archbishop Mitty, Willow Glen High School and Delphi Academy of Campbell.

However, the youngest volunteer may have been 18-month-old Emmaline Menasco, towing her bucket in hand helping her mother and older sister pick up trash in the park.

“I want my daughters to know that if you love something, you take care of it,” said Amber Menasco. “We love the park so we’re here to take care of it.”

In three hours, park volunteers went through a mountainous pile of Fibar and collected lots of bags filled with trash and green debris.

“The neighbors said the park has never looked better,” Carlson said, adding the event will be held again next year.

The city of San Jose is working on Green Print, a 20-year plan guiding the city’s parks and recreation development. The department will take input from 500 outreach events, according to Tori O’Reilly, parks facility supervisor for San Jose.

The Jan. 18 event saw parks and recreation staff survey residents about park priorities to get feedback for the plan.