UC's -- What have you done to make your community a better place? (350 words)

 Long Beach is home to many communities - rich, poor, working class, and middle class. My city is divided based on class. North Side, the Carmelitos, and West Side are considered the poor areas, 2nd Street and Virginia Country Club belong to the upper class, and Bixby Knolls and East Side are considered the middle class. Within those small divisions they have their own diverse communities. I became involved with a leadership group that served the North and West side with providing necessities, but mainly food in 2022.

After a meeting I attended I was told that North Side and West Side were considered food deserts and their resources and necessities are limited due to the lack of priority within the city because of their socio-economic status. As I have family in West Side and friends in North Side, hearing this was a wake up call as I knew I was at an advantage and I could make a change. When it came to pitching ideas for giving back to our community, I raised my hand and advocated immediately to provide fresh produce for those parts. After much debate with peers about why producing fresh produce was more important than advocating for roosters, I was able to prove my idea to be strong and we all came into alignment that we can host a “Free-Store” in the middle of those two areas.

On Saturday morning of the 27th of May, 2023 in MacArthur Park, in between West Side and North Side, the Free Store opened. We collected the food through partnerships within the city as well as receiving donations from Goodwill and other citizens of Long Beach wanting to contribute. I had never felt more overjoyed to be passing out necessities to people within my community who didn't have accessibility to them. I was ecstatic as I knew I had contributed to a change in a city of 450,000 and as a 16 year old I was making an impact. Seeing the smiles on peoples faces as they felt as someone had finally heard and understood them was my greatest joy.