The Board of Harbor Commissioners has awarded 136 Port of Long Beach (POLB) community sponsorships a total record of $538,750 on Monday as part of the port’s role of educating and engaging the public about international trade, port officials announced today.

POLB received a record-breaking 181 sponsorship applications for the September solicitation for its community sponsorship program, which saw a 61 percent increase from last year’s application rate during the same period. More than 40 percent of these applications were from groups that never requested support previously, port officials said. The port is also on track to outpace its record of 273 applications from last year.

“The Port of Long Beach believes in public service and supporting organizations that make our diverse city a great place to live,” said Harbor Commission President Lori Ann Guzmán in a statement. “We’ve taken these steps to increase our commitment to that mission, and it’s great to see the community responding.”

The POLB community sponsorship program assists in funding local groups and organizations to create community events to help inform the public about the Port, the Post reported previously. The program was revamped to accept applications twice yearly, in March and September, in hopes to increase participation, set clear and user-friendly guidelines and enhance focus on social responsibility, port officials stated.

Sponsored events from this program this time around include the American Cancer Society’s Long Beach Gala, an International City Theatre free performance series, the United States Veterans Initiative annual luncheon, the JetBlue Long Beach Marathon, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Long Beach annual gala.

For more information on the sponsorship program, click here.