LONG BEACH CARES CAMPAIGN SHIPS SUPPLIES AND SHOES TO SISTER BEACH CITY IN LONG BEACH, MISSISSIPPI

Working together last week, the Long Beach Cares Business Committee and Long Beach City College’s Foundation shipped more than $1,500 worth of office supplies to Long Beach, Mississippi city hall, police and fire departments, and around 1,000 pairs of shoes of all sizes for men, women and children to a church in Long Beach, MS.

The Long Beach Cares Business Committee spearheaded the drive to raise funds for critically needed office supplies. City staff in Long Beach, MS say they have two FEMA trailers to serve as their city hall, but very little to help keep their offices running smoothly. “We have no downtown and no tax base to even buy supplies,” said Veronica Howard, assistant to the Mayor and City Council, “No one can imagine not having paper, pencils or staples at their desks, but due to shortages of all supplies, and our destroyed downtown, these every-day items will help immensely.”

Dave Neary, president of Westland Construction, an active committee member of the Long Beach Cares Business Committee, has communicated with their city hall regarding ways that Long Beach, CA can be more helpful. The two critical needs are office supplies and building inspectors and officials needed to help in the rebuilding effort .

Others who participated in this second wave of relief are George Economides, publisher of the Long Beach Business Journal, Randy Gordon, director of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Jerry Miller, Long Beach City Manager, Greg Neary of INCO commercial real estate and Lindsay Shields, Director of the Long Beach Cares Campaign.

Lois Schneider, Administrative Secretary at Long Beach City College’s Foundation, hearing of the horrors of Hurricane Katrina, decided to assist by collecting shoes. The effort was so successful that the problem became how to get them to our "sister beach city” in Long Beach, Mississippi. She discovered it would cost more than $700 to ship the shoes. Schneider contacted Lindsay Shields who contacted John Lindsey, a new member of the Long Beach Cares Business Committee and President of WBR (Waste by Rail, Inc.) who offered to help.

The two efforts were successful, and response from Long Beach, Mississippi has been like the following comment from City Clerk, Becky Schruff, “I can’t express how I feel about this (the second wave of relief from Long Beach, CA). Suffice it to say that I’m trying really hard not to sit down and cry. We’re speechless with the love an d support coming from people and places that we’ve never even met or visited. It gives us great hope. I sometimes feel like I’m living in a war torn country like you see on television. Everything that I have looked at and been a part of for my entire life is completely gone and I don’t know where I am. But, with people of Long Beach, Ca, I know that we’ll recover. Thank you so much.”

---

Long Beach Cares Campaign assists Long Beach City College volunteers in Shipping Shoes to Long Beach, Mississippi

The story began last fall. Schneider, Administrative Secretary at Long Beach City College’s Foundation office, called her friend and Long Beach City College Counselor, Debra Peterson, and said "Okay, let's get on a plane and go, we need to help." Peterson thought about it, called Schneider and said, "I have an idea, let's do a shoe drive instead."

Schneider discussed the idea with her boss, Dr. Ginny Baxter, Executive Director of the City College Foundation, who said they could use the Foundation to help the cause. Later, in a meeting with Superintendent-President E. Jan Kehoe, Kehoe suggested the shoes be donated to Long Beach, Mississippi. Peterson had a flyer made, posted it around campus and emailed it to the staff. The shoes poured in!

One of our Foundation governors, Pat Lofland, collected hundreds of shoes from her church. Teachers in the community who heard about the drive dropped off more shoes - students brought shoes - staff members donated - the response was terrific. Bags and bags and bags of shoes filled the Foundation conference room. When there was no more room, the shoes were taken to Debra’s condominium," said Schneider.

After the deadline of October 21, Schneider and Peterson spent one evening and one Saturday in Peterson’s living room sorting the hundreds of pairs of shoes. They banded the pairs together with rubber bands and had large cartons for each shoe size. Finally, after all the sorting, there were 35 large cartons filled with shoes - all sizes - for men, women and children. Peterson then went on-line to find churches in the area who needed shoes.

What Schneider and Peterson didn’t realize was how much it would cost to ship - more than $700! They looked for a sponsor for weeks, but none of the regular freight services would ship the shoes as a donation. Dr. Baxter even offered to pay their way to Mississippi (via a U-Haul) but they decided to keep looking for a shipper.

Then, in January, Schneider saw the article in the Press-Telegram about the City of Long Beach hiring Lindsay Shields to direct the Long Beach Cares Campaign. Schneider called Shields.

Schneider was just one week away from starting to ask for money from good-hearted friends and shipping the boxes individually, when the news arrived that Shields had found John Lindsey, a new member of the Long Beach Cares Business Committee and President of WBR (Waste by Rail, Inc.) who offered to help. Lindsey had also been instrumental in shipping the two vehicles donated by Long Beach, CA that went via Union Pacific to Long Beach, MS in January. Last week 35 large boxes of almost 1,000 pairs of shoes were shipped to Reverend Barbara Hunter at the Grace Lutheran Church in Long Beach, Mississippi.

So all well that ends well…except with Hurricane Katrina’s damage. It will probably take more than a few years before the devastation is repaired and rebuilt. Katrina hit at the end of August 2005, wiping out the entire downtown of Long Beach, Mississippi. Currently they have not even begun to clear the debris on the many blocks of their former downtown area – the job is just too big – rebuilding their homes and getting patterns of their daily lives back on track comes first. So the second wave of relief continues from all parts of the county, and especially from our home town, Long Beach, California.

If you would like to assist Long Beach, MS, with a cash donation or volunteer effort, please call Lindsay Shields at 562-621-0521,