The organization is in early discussions with Miller Children’s Hospital and Harbor UCLA to discuss the future of a Ronald McDonald family room program in Long Beach, an initiative currently in 276 locations across the world, with 144 in the United States.

After spending time planting trees with the grassroots organization, Wrigley is Going Green, and creating a community garden also in the Wrigley neighborhood as part of a two-year pilot project, Kanno knew she wanted to turn more toward the production side, and began scouting properties for a full-scale farm.

In the 40 years since the event began, authors such as Mary Higgins Clark, Lisa See, Barbara Kingsolver, Aimee Bender, Roxane Gay, Isabel Wilkerson, Octavia Butler and Rae Armentrout have attended the festival.

BOSS, or Business of Student Success, began several years ago with one-day events and now offers both summer and year-round programming for about 175 middle school and high schoolers, who are mostly boys of color from the Long Beach Unified School District.

With the goal of providing holistic arts education and meaningful experiences, the organization serves K-12 youth in Long Beach and across LA County, with hopes of expanding further.

For the past 90 years, the Children’s Dental Health Clinic in Long Beach has made a name for itself in a landscape where access to low-cost dental care is difficult to come by.

Meant to serve as a safe haven for youth, House of Haven officially opened earlier this year, providing a space to rest, get a meal, shower and “just be young adults.”

The annual event, which convened in-person for the first time since prior to the pandemic, supports the aquarium’s unrestricted funds, specifically going toward the animal care, education and conservation programs.

Alberto Uribe brings over 30 years of experience in the nonprofit sector to the organization.