City of Long Beach Launches First-Ever Space Beach Camp for Young Adults

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PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA - The City of Long Beach Economic Development Department (Department) is partnering with local Space Beach employers and educational institutions to offer an immersive and socially engaging career exploration camp for approximately 30 opportunity youth, or youth ages 16 to 24 who are not working or in school. The innovative program is designed to help build knowledge of aerospace careers, provide related educational and training opportunities, and foster mentorships with leaders in this fast-growing industry.

"Our young people are the future of Space Beach, and this camp provides participants with an exciting opportunity to explore career pathways in the transformative aerospace industry here in Long Beach," said Mayor Rex Richardson. "We are proud to partner with our aerospace and educational partners to offer this inclusive and dynamic program for young adults in our city."

Facilitated by the Department's youth employment center, Future LB, Space Beach Camp is a free, three-week program that offers enriching, hands-on opportunities to enable young people to explore advanced education and careers in the aerospace sector. The comprehensive program features one-on-one informational sessions, a guest speaker series, workplace tours, field trips, coaching opportunities, career days and networking events.

"We are thrilled to offer our first-ever Space Beach Camp, with an intentional focus on creating opportunities for access, inspiration, stability and hope for our young people," said Economic Development Department Pacific Gateway Acting Executive Director Alisa Munoz. "Thank you to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, our many industry partners and the dedicated Future LB staff for their commitment to uplifting Long Beach's youth."

Space Beach Camp prioritizes the engagement of youth enrolled with Learn4Life, Options For Youth, and federally-funded workforce training programs offered through Future LB. Participating partners include Long Beach Airport, Port of Long Beach, Ampaire, Benmo, Boeing, California State University, Long Beach, ExLabs, GXO, Inc., Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Long Beach City College, Long Beach Transit, Relativity Space, Rocket Lab, SpaceX,SpinLaunch, United States Space Force, and Vast.

"We are delighted to partner with the City of Long Beach as they build out new opportunities for young people to pursue exciting careers in the aerospace industry," said Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Senior Program Officer of Older Youth Initiatives Elizabeth Cheung. "Long Beach's commitment to youth is evident in the thoughtful and caring design of their programs, which consistently prioritize the needs and aspirations of their young residents."

The program is made possible by a $1.6 million grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to create work-based learning opportunities to expose, train and prepare young people disconnected from employment and educational opportunities to careers in aerospace.

The first Space Beach Camp cohort is expected to commence on Aug. 30, 2024. The program is not accepting new applications at this time. For additional information about the program and other youth employment services, the public may contact Future LB at 562.570.4700.

About the City of Long Beach
Long Beach is nestled along the Southern California coast and home to approximately 466,000 people. As an award-winning full-service charter city, Long Beach offers the amenities of a metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods, culture and community. With a bustling downtown and over six miles of scenic beaches, Long Beach is a renowned tourist and business destination and home to the iconic Queen Mary, nationally recognized Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach Airport, award-winning Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and world-class Port of Long Beach.

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube. For more information about the Long Beach Economic Development Department, visit longbeach.gov/ed, follow on Facebook, X and Instagram. Stay up to date on business news by signing up for the City's Business Brief.

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