Long Beach Forward will soon host a series of workshops aimed at helping people strengthen their organizing skills and bolster community building.
The series, called “LB Blooming: Organizing Workshops,” is designed for people of all ages who are interested in or actively engaged in community organizing, organizers said.
Long Beach Forward is a nonprofit rooted in more than a decade of community organizing. Its mission is to create a healthy Long Beach with low-income communities of color by building community knowledge, leadership, and power, according to its website.
The nonprofit strives to be a hub to build a multi-cultural and multi-generational community, teaches and shares the organizing and leadership skills needed to win social change, and supports actionable campaigns and projects to challenge the status quo.
Participants of the workshops will learn how to support people to define community problems, fashion their own solutions, and determine what tactics they will use to achieve their goals.
“Organizers weave relationships, create democratic structures that can wield power,” Long Beach Forward leaders said, “then, through a combination of confrontation and negotiation, bring about necessary changes.”
Long Beach Forward will be hosting a workshop series, called “LB Blooming: Organizing Workshops” starting next week on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Long Beach Forward)
Long Beach Forward will be hosting a workshop series, called “LB Blooming: Organizing Workshops” starting next week on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Long Beach Forward)
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Long Beach Forward will be hosting a workshop series, called “LB Blooming: Organizing Workshops” starting next week on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Long Beach Forward)
The first workshop in the series will be held next week on Tuesday, Oct. 28, and focus on basebuilding — which is the process of recruiting and retaining people who participate in and help direct and implement the work of an organization and its campaigns, organizers said.
Then, there will be three workshops next month. On Monday, Nov. 3, participants will learn and practice ways to structure and effectively have one-on-one organizing conversations that build relationships and move people into collective action.
On Thursday, Nov. 13, the workshop will aim to ground participants in approaches and mindsets that help with addressing conflict, acknowledging mistakes, and sharing lessons learned in relationship building/mending, accountability, and rebuilding.
The last workshop in the series will be on Wednesday, Nov. 19, and focus on the use of a campaign strategy chart to plan and win an organizing campaign, including how to identify goals, analyze the landscape, map allies, opponents and targets, and plan winning tactics.
All workshops are held in person from 6 to 8 p.m. The address and logistics will be sent after registration, which is required as space is limited. A sliding scale donation between $10 to $25 is suggested based on means, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds, organizers said. Masks are required for health and safety, and will be available at the door if needed.
To learn more about Long Beach Forward’s “LB Blooming: Organizing Workshops,” and to register, visit lbforward.org/leadership.
(L-R) Executive Director of Musical Theatre West Paul Garman, Musical Theatre West Board President Cynthia Terry, 2025 Gene Lentzner Human Relations honoree Chuck Barnes, Confluence Rising Executive Director Reena Hajat Carroll, and 2025 Humanitarian honoree Julie Meenan at the 61st annual Humanitarian Awards Celebration on Oct. 8, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Confluence Rising)
(L-R) Confluence Rising’s board members, Reena Hajat Carroll, Drew Schenider, Desarie Gonzales, Dana Buchanan, Megan Kerr, Carol Hass, Gillian Medina, Aaron Boulding, and Tiffany Brown, at the 61st annual Humanitarian Awards Celebration on Oct. 8, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Confluence Rising)
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(L-R) Executive Director of Musical Theatre West Paul Garman, Musical Theatre West Board President Cynthia Terry, 2025 Gene Lentzner Human Relations honoree Chuck Barnes, Confluence Rising Executive Director Reena Hajat Carroll, and 2025 Humanitarian honoree Julie Meenan at the 61st annual Humanitarian Awards Celebration on Oct. 8, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Confluence Rising)
CCEJ celebrates humanitarians and debuts new name – Confluence Rising
The California Conference for Equality and Justice debuted a new name at its 61st annual Humanitarian Awards celebration earlier this month, where humanitarians in the Long Beach community were honored for their work.
Philanthropic leader Julie Meenan received the Humanitarian Award for her decades of support for the nonprofit community through her work with the Josephine Gumbiner Foundation and Long Beach Gives.
The Gene Lentzer Human Relations Award was presented to Chuck Barnes, NCCJ Brotherhood Sisterhood Camp alum and adult volunteer with CCEJ’s Building Bridges Camp, for his dedication to empowering young people to become advocates for inclusion, equity, and justice.
The Building Bridges Award was presented to Musical Theatre West for their commitment to uplifting diverse voices in the arts and bringing theatre to all corners of the Long Beach community.
After the awards presentation at the Oct. 8 event, board members and advisory committee members of the nonprofit filled the stage as board chair Megan Kerr announced that CCEJ would now be known as “Confluence Rising,” according to a press release.
“The word Confluence describes a coming together of people or ideas, referring to a meaning or gathering point,” Kerr said. “It can also describe the meeting of rivers or bodies of water, an image that is echoed in our new logo. The word Rising represents the transformative power of our mission to educate and empower youth and adults to lead change for equity and justice in our communities.”
For 60 years, the local nonprofit has been striving to build a world where people live free of oppression and thrive. Its mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to lead change for equity and justice in their communities, according to a press release.