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| Shoreline Marina Dock, Photo by:E.Ozlen |
Leaders of Long Beach community
groups collaborated at sea to exchange ideas and strengthen their relationship
towards a common good.
The
Presidents of Rotoract Long Beach, Long Beach Junior Chamber of Commerce, and
the Sister Cities Association sailed together in the Long Beach Harbor
discussing humanitarian efforts, professional development, and charity projects
on March 23rd 2014.
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| Community leaders in Shoreline Marina, Photo By:E.Ozlen |
Sandals,
sunglasses, and windbreakers replaced suits and conference tables, as these
project developers set sail from Shoreline Village. With historic landmarks such as the Queen
Mary, the lighthouse, Grissom Island, and the Port of Long Beach always in
sight, it was easy to focus on the community these people love.
Anthony
Gales, president of Long Beach Junior Chamber encouraged professional
development, and spoke of successful “mentoring mixers,” where established
professionals are arranged as business mentors and life coaches. Gales also shared experiences of charitable
work the Long Beach Junior Chamber has been involved with such as “Shop with a
Cop,” which treats underprivileged kids to a $100 shopping spree in the company
of a police officer. Gales acknowledged
a real fear of the police officers in the community and says this event helped
“bridge the gap between the kids in the community who have a negative view of
policeman.”
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| Community leaders plan events in Long Beach Harbor, Photo by:E.Ozlen |
Rotoract
Long Beach is also heavily involved in charitable work including educational
and environmental programs. President
Michael Anderson shared Rotoract’s “Legacy Project,” which is devoted to
promoting literacy throughout Long Beach.
With contributions from the city, the Long Beach Library Foundation,
Parks & Recreation, and neighborhood associations such as Anaheim Orange
Cherry 7th (AOC7), Rotoract will build learning centers in local
parks, with book fairs and ESL language programs for the diverse Long Beach
community. “A lot of the inability to
integrate into the community has to do with the language barrier. This is a way to integrate at their own
pace,” said Anderson.
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| Rotoract Long Beach President Michael Anderson, shares ideas that "foster good will" Photo by:E.Ozlen |
The
Rotoract president also explained the “Urban Agriculture” initiative, a
movement within Long Beach including several proposed bills to the city
council, to promote environmental efforts in homes and community gardens. Anderson brought up the current water
shortage in Long Beach and said, “The ‘Urban Agriculture’ project aims to not
only contribute by ‘Xeriscaping’ (the elimination of water-heavy plants), but
to grow consumable plants, creating community gardens on sidewalks everywhere.”
The
president of the Izmir-Long Beach Sister Cities Association, Deniz Aytekin has
brought these community leaders together as part of efforts to create cultural
exchange and business networking between citizens of Long Beach and those of
Izmir, Turkey. Aytekin revealed plans of
the Izmir Grove Friendship Park, to honor the fellowship of the two cities, as
well as global teaching opportunities and student exchanges through the Turkey
California Spiritual Bridge Project.
This
inter-club summit was a brief getaway, and a unique opportunity that strengthened
the connection between two sister cities.
Through the sound of the boat’s wake and barking seals, an alliance was
formed between leaders of two port cities on this day.
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| Anthony Gales, Michael Anderson, Deniz Aytekin- presidents of Long Beach community groups eat traditional Turkish food. Photo By:E.Ozlen |
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