{"id":248642,"date":"2026-04-02T15:58:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T15:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/248642\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T15:58:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T15:58:17","slug":"this-community-organization-is-working-to-strengthen-central-lb-press-telegram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/248642\/","title":{"rendered":"This community organization is working to strengthen Central LB \u2013 Press Telegram"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLIMB Central Long Beach, a community-based organization, is working to strengthen its namesake through leadership development, education, and neighborhood action.<\/p>\n

Organizers bring residents, local organizations and partners together to address everyday challenges in their Central Long Beach neighborhoods, from safety and access to community connection and civic participation, according to its website. Their vision is for residents to feel safe, connected and empowered to shape the future of their community, which historically has been underserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been around since 2011,\u201d said Rocio Torres, president of CLIMB Central Long Beach, in an interview. \u201cWe operated under the name \u2013 that\u2019s still our official name \u2013 AOC7 Organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

The official name came from the organization\u2019s original boundaries \u2013 Anaheim Street, Orange Avenue, Cherry Avenue and Seventh Street. The group evolved and now does work across Central Long Beach, which is why they recently changed their name and rebranded, Torres said.<\/p>\n

CLIMB stands for community, leadership, impact, movement and belonging. This new name reflects the organization\u2019s commitment to community-led programs, neighborhood action, and inclusive engagement in central Long Beach, organizers said when they announced the new name in January.<\/p>\n

This group of volunteers started with neighborhood cleanups and evolved to advocating for investments at MacArthur Park and even gun violence prevention.<\/p>\n

They continue to work to make their neighborhoods safe and clean. Torres emphasized that beautification of their neighborhoods does not mean gentrification.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really trying to change our community, to be clean and safe and not push people out,\u201d she said. \u201cOur big thing is we can have beautification without gentrification. I grew up in this neighborhood; I\u2019m in the house that I lived in my entire life. I chose to stay here, but it doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s easy for other people to stay if we\u2019re pushing people out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CLIMB<\/p>\n

CLIMB Central Long Beach is hosting a book drive through April 10 for its annual Literacy Fair, providing hundreds of children and families with free books. (Photo by Patrick Strattner, courtesy of CLIMB Central Long Beach)\n<\/p>\n

\"CLIMB<\/p>\n

CLIMB Central Long Beach is hosting a book drive through April 10 for its annual Literacy Fair, providing hundreds of children and families with free books. (Photo by Patrick Strattner, courtesy of CLIMB Central Long Beach)\n<\/p>\n

\"CLIMB<\/p>\n

CLIMB Central Long Beach is hosting a book drive through April 10 for its annual Literacy Fair, providing hundreds of children and families with free books. (Photo courtesy of CLIMB Central Long Beach)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

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CLIMB Central Long Beach is hosting a book drive through April 10 for its annual Literacy Fair, providing hundreds of children and families with free books. (Photo by Patrick Strattner, courtesy of CLIMB Central Long Beach)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

CLIMB Central Long Beach supports its community by providing programs and events that work to create pathways for residents to get involved, learn, and take action in their community. This includes monthly neighborhood cleanups focused on building community pride and safer public spaces, and community markets where families can select fresh produce and essential items at no cost.<\/p>\n

The organization also recently held its inaugural Women\u2019s Leadership Symposium, with workshops that focused on leadership development, advocacy, financial literacy, and community engagement, Torres said.<\/p>\n

Another major event that CLIMB Central Long Beach hosts annually is its Literacy Fair, which promotes reading, learning and access to educational resources for youth and families. This year\u2019s Literacy Fair will take place on Saturday, May 16, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at MacArthur Park, 1321 E. Anaheim St.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to make sure that we can bring the love of literacy and books to our community, and that\u2019s how the Literacy Fair started,\u201d Torres said. \u201cIf our youth have three books in their households, their mini-library in their household, books don\u2019t become a foreign object, but they become a part of their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can read a book, then you can travel the world, learn about other people,\u201d she added. \u201cTo me, reading is fundamental but it also opens up so many doors, and it gives you an understanding of other people and cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group started with a couple of boxes of books but now expanded to receiving hundreds of books each year \u2013 thanks to community donations from community members and local organizations.<\/p>\n

Last year, they received more than 30,000 books for the Literacy Fair and sent children home with bags of books that they hand-picked with their families. This year, they\u2019re hoping to do the same with help from the Long Beach community.<\/p>\n

Community members can help by making donations of gently used or new books to CLIMB Central Long Beach\u2019s book drive now through April 10. The group has five drop-off locations throughout the city. Donated books will go to children aged 0 to 18 years old.<\/p>\n

People can drop off book donations at Chase Banks at 3901 Atlantic Ave. and 5200 Second St.; Good Time, 1322 Coronado Ave.; Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion, 6509 Gundry Ave.; or at Cal State Long Beach\u2019s Psychology Building, room 145.<\/p>\n

Organizers have also partnered with Long Beach\u2019s local bookstore, Casita Book Store, where community members can order books off their wish list. Not only can people support youth literacy, but they will also be supporting a local business, Torres said.<\/p>\n

CLIMB Central Long Beach has also partnered with Centro CHA, Port of Long Beach, and the Community Development Department, which has provided the group grand funding to purchase books as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a wonderful time to see the joy of a child\u2019s face when they\u2019re getting their first book,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n

If people are not able to donate books, there will also be other opportunities to volunteer with CLIMB Central Long Beach, from sorting through donated books to helping distribute books at the Literacy Fair.<\/p>\n

People interested in making a difference in their community of Central Long Beach can also volunteer for the organization\u2019s other events and programs, Torres said. More information can be found on their social media pages or by visiting their website at climbcentrallb.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly believe, if people knew how much power they have in their own voice and that they\u2019re not alone \u2013 if we work together, there\u2019s more power,\u201d Torres said. \u201cOur voices are stronger when we really come together and advocate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLIMB Central Long Beach, a community-based organization, is working to strengthen its namesake through leadership development, education, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,3782,3739,131,133,132,137,3738],"class_list":{"0":"post-248642","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-grunion-kindness","10":"tag-grunion-news","11":"tag-long-beach","12":"tag-long-beach-headlines","13":"tag-long-beach-news","14":"tag-los-angeles-county","15":"tag-the-grunion"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}