City of Long Beach Seeks Donations to Support People Experiencing Homelessness During Warm Summer Months

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PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA - As part of the City of Long Beach's ongoing commitment to support people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach, the City will offer its 12th charitable giving opportunity for community members who wish to make a material difference in the lives of people experiencing homelessness.

"Since 2023, our incredible community has been coming together to collect items for people experiencing homelessness, contributing over 39,000 items, which we distribute to people experiencing homelessness and our partners, including nonprofits and faith-based organizations, who serve our neighbors experiencing homelessness," said Mayor Rex Richardson. "Donating an essential item is one small way you can make a big difference."

Donation Drive Thru Events
The Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) will host a donation drive thru on Saturday, July 27, 2024, to collect essential items to distribute to people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach. The drive will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Health Department's Main Facilities Center (2525 Grand Ave.). Donations received will be distributed at the Multi-Service Center (MSC) and will also be available to local partner organizations to distribute.

For this quarter's donation drive, the City kindly requests items from the following list:

• Hygiene kits or house-warming gift kits from the Multi-Service Center Amazon Wish List.
• Backpacks filled with items such as sunscreen, reusable water bottles, sun hats, flashlights, battery packs, batteries (usually D batteries) and charging cables.
• S, M, L, XL or XXL sweatpants, shirts, socks and men's and women's underwear, caps, hoodies, towels or blankets. Gently used items are appreciated, too.
• Pet care kits with things like pet food, treats, collars, leashes, pet toys or collapsible pet bowls.
• Welcome home kits with some of the suggested items above and a special hand-written motivating message to go in the kit.
• Food items like canned food (and small, manual can openers), bottled drinks like juices or water, and snacks such as granola bars or power bars, instant oatmeal and instant soup.

While gift cards will not be accepted at the drive-thru event, they can be donated at the MSC. To schedule a drop-off time, people can call 562.570.4586.

Donation Drop-Off Bins
Donation drop off bins remain available at a variety of locations citywide and are a quick and easy way to donate essential physical items that can make an impact on someone's daily life. Bins are located at all open Long Beach Public Library locations during regular business hours, as well as at the below locations:

• Boys and Girls Club of Long Beach (3635 Long Beach Blvd.), Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Scherer Park Community Center, (4654 Pasadena Ave.), Monday through Friday 3 to 6 p.m.

Requesting Donations
The City continues to provide local organizations that support people experiencing homelessness a portion of the donated items to help further their organization's mission. Local organizations interested in receiving donations can request items online.

Since launching donation efforts in February 2023, the City has collected more than 39,000 donated items, 22,500 of which have been distributed to people experiencing homelessness and local organizations that provide services and support to people experiencing homelessness.

People are encouraged to follow @lbhealthdept and @longbeachcity on social media and follow the hashtag #EveryoneHomeLB for more information on the City's efforts to reduce homelessness in Long Beach.

The City does not represent or warrant that any donations made to the City are tax deductible. Donors are encouraged to work with their tax professional. Receipts of donations are available at all drop off locations.

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