CityHeart's YOUConnect

09/05/2025

CityHeART isn’t just a nonprofit; we’re a hub of connection. 🌊 Long Beach Gives

At our Resource Hub, neighbors come for essentials and stay for community.

Through Art from Ashes, stories are shared in our magazine, street paper, and radio station. With HeART of Survival, we offer expressive art and narrative healing in support groups right here at the Hub. And through YOUConnect, we walk alongside neighbors and offer connections to resources like HeARTy Foods, the Veterans Homefront HeARTline, WholeHeART WholeHealth, HeART to Home, and other resources beyond CityHeART.

Every day, Veterans, seniors, and families share their voices through creativity, light up in companionship, and find stability through meaningful connection. At CityHeART, our role is to walk alongside these journeys, whether that is through art and storytelling, supportive spaces for healing, or resources that meet essential needs.

These are the stories we get to see unfold every day: neighbors coming together with dignity and love, isolation giving way to belonging, and community coming alive. 💛Come for the resources. Stay for the heART.

(Love this pic! DM Us or drop a comment below to join the CityHeART Squad!)

04/05/2025

All week long, food flows through our doors: loads of fresh produce, warm loaves, and pantry staples. It comes from every corner of Long Beach: neighbors dropping off what they can spare, local partners like Grounds Bakery and Food Finders coordinating food rescue pick-ups, local growers like Grow to Zero Farms and Sowing Seeds of Change collaborating with intention to ensure our guests have access to fresh produce, and our very own kitchen team (sustained by the ongoing sponsorship of the Port of Long Beach) preparing new recipes each week so that we always have homemade meals on hand.

Our shelves fill up, our fridges hum with abundance, and then — just as quickly — they empty. Families stop by, volunteers pack boxes, case managers pick up meals for Veterans, seniors, and families with children. By week’s end, it’s rare to see much left. But that’s the rhythm here: give, receive, repeat.

And because of that rhythm, because of the consistent support of donors, the dedication of our partners, and the commitment at the hands of our volunteers, we were still able to say 'yes' when the call came after hours this week. A case manager reached out with an urgent need: two Veteran households low on food for the rest of the week.

When our shelves are nearly bare, somehow the boxes always find their way to full.

We pulled together two robust food boxes, stacked high with nourishment and care — with a little bit of love from each of our partners, donors, and volunteers. You see, it's not just about the moment when we give the boxes out ... it's also about all the moments of hard work, generosity, thought, and care that come before and make it possible for us to continue to say yes and to keep opening our door, heARTs open and hands full of whatever our neighbors may need.

This is what community looks like —and we love being in community in

04/03/2025

🌿 ReLEAF: Where Stories Take Root 🌿

We’re proud to announce that the upcoming launch of the Art from Ashes magazine — themed ReLEAF — will feature a powerful collaboration with Chad Bishop for the ENCORE release of his Soul Butter EP, plus LIVE MUSIC by Acoustic Soul Express 🎶

This issue is about more than art.
It’s about healing after devastation.
It’s about the relief efforts that grew from Long Beach to LA during the fires earlier this year.
It’s about the roots that tie us to one another, even when the ground shakes beneath us.

Through music, story, and shared space, we’ll celebrate the regrowth that follows destruction — and the beauty of a community that shows up when it matters most.

👉 https://bit.ly/3E2kzZL

📅 Thursday, April 10, 2025
🕕 6 PM
📍 At The Top, Long Beach

Come take part in a night of resilience, rhythm, and re-connection.



Long Beach, Calif. Long Beach Community Theater U.S.VETS—Long Beach Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association
Alley Cat Deliveries Care Closet LBC California State University, Long Beach

03/28/2025

🔥🎤 LAST CALL: THIS IS NOT A DRILL! 🎤🔥
The Art from Ashes Youth Storytelling Summit is about to DROP THE MIC, and you do not want to miss it.

High School Seniors —and we have limited spots for juniors AND recent grads from Long Beach and the surrounding area!

📅 Date: April 17-20
📍 Location: Long Beach and Pali Retreat
🕒 Time: 4-days PLUS a full showcase!
🎟️ Free to attend — but space is LIMITED!

✨ Leaders.
🎬 Creators.
🎨 Artists.
🎙️ Changemakers.
🌱 Young voices ready to change the world.

This isn’t just another youth event.
This is revolution through story.
🔥 This is where healing meets art.
🔥 This is where pain turns to poetry.
🔥 This is where your voice finds its echo.

🚨 Tag your crew. Share the post. Register NOW.
APPLICATIONS MUST BE IN BY MONDAY MARCH 31!!

Apply here ➡️ https://bit.ly/4iHlD4f

This is your last shot to be in the room where real voices break through the noise — and you’ll never forget it.

Let’s rise from the ashes together.
Let’s create something unforgettable.

03/05/2025

📚 March is National Reading Month: Help Us Bring Books to the Community! 📚

🎉 Exciting News! CSULB Nursing students are teaming up with CityHeART to install the FIRST public mini library at the Villages at Cabrillo!

📖 Why This Matters:

🏡 The Villages does not have a public library
🚍 Limited transportation makes it difficult to access books
📚 We believe everyone deserves free and easy access to literacy resources — from cook books and AA books to coloring books and the whole world of fiction and non-fiction!

💡 How You Can Help:

We're raising funds to purchase and install a Little Free Library, a community book-sharing space where anyone can take a book or leave a book!

➡️ Donate today to help us bring books to our community!
📢 Spread the word by sharing this fundraiser!
📚 Got books to donate? Drop them off at CityHeART's Resource Hub!
📍 Follow our journey as we build this community bookshelf!



Click here to learn more about the health impacts of this effort in our community and give us some love today!

📚 March is National Reading Month: Help Us Bring Books to the Community! 📚🎉 Exciting News! CSULB Nursing students are teaming up with CityHeART to install the FIRST public mini library at the Villages at Cabrillo!📖 Why This Matters:🏡 CVC does not have a public library🚍 Limited tran...

02/22/2025

🩸 Give Blood, Give Life! 🩸

Our incredible community partner, the Long Beach East Stake, has supported CityHeART’s HeARTy Foods Food Bank for years! Now, they’re hosting a Red Cross Blood Drive to help our community even more! 💙

📅 Saturday, March 8
⏰ 8 AM - 2 PM
📍 6500 Atherton St., Long Beach, CA

A single donation can save up to 3 lives, will you be a hero? 🙌 Plus, all donors in March receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card as a thank you! 💉 Sign up & learn more: https://bit.ly/3XaF2li


Long Beach California East Stake

By CityHeART’s Art from Ashes At CityHeART, we believe in the power of community. Every act of kindness, every donation, whether it’s a can of food or a life-saving unit of blood, creates rip…

02/04/2025

📢 Volunteer Help Needed! 📢

We’re looking for a volunteer to help pick up excess donations from one of our HeART to Home recipients who was temporarily staying in a hotel. These items need to be transported back to CityHeART.

🚗 What’s needed?
✔️ A vehicle to pick up the items from Long Beach hotel
✔️ Availability to drive to the hotel & bring the donations back to CityHeART

If you can help, please DM us or text 562-704-9585 to volunteer! 💙 Thank you for supporting our mission!

02/03/2025

📢 We’re Looking for Digital Storytellers! 📖✨

Do you love creating content, writing, or designing? Want to use your creativity to make an impact? CityHeART is looking for Digital Storytelling Volunteers to help share the work we do through social media, blogs, and digital content.

💡 Why Join?
✅ Build your portfolio with published content
✅ Gain resume-boosting experience in digital marketing & nonprofit storytelling
✅ Receive personalized mentorship from a CityHeART staff member, board member, or Long Beach professional
✅ Connect at exclusive volunteer networking events with community leaders
✅ Get a LinkedIn recommendation & letter of recommendation after completing your commitment
✅ Be featured in CityHeART’s newsletter, social media, and more

🎨📲 Flexible, remote-friendly, and perfect for creatives!

🌍 Help us tell the story of CityHeART’s mission & impact. Apply today:
👉 https://bit.ly/40XP7Ev🌟-digital-storyteller-volunteer-role-🌟/

1 post published by ourcityheart on February 2, 2025

01/28/2025

🎨 Ten Years of Saying YES to the Needs of Our Community

With love, empathy, and compassion, CityHeART has wholeheARTedly said YES to the needs of our community for almost ten years.

Saying YES has meant:

❤️Supporting those navigating trauma while experiencing food insecurity, housing instability, and systemic inequities,
❤️Holding safe spaces for people to share their lived experiences with peers,
❤️Providing equitable access to essential resources and services, from immediate needs to long-term, coordinated care, &
❤️Celebrating lived experiences across the Long Beach community as a means for collective healing and empowerment.

This commitment to YES is how HeART to Home began.

What started as an urgent response to the immediate needs of individuals and families displaced to Long Beach by the LA fires has now grown into a long-term commitment.

With YOUR love and support, this immediate relief effort has included:
❤️nearly 300 HeART to Home care packs,
❤️almost 50 household deliveries,
❤️50+ visits to the CityHeART Resource Hub, and
❤️2 bulk supply drops to strategic partners.

As we continue to answer the call for support of these immediate needs, we are also actively responding to the call to provide long-term support and care coordination for those impacted by the fires in and around our area.

It's clear to us that HeART to Home has become a piece of a larger, expanded mission that continues to meet the evolving needs of our neighbors through CityHeART's Resource Hub, which also includes:

✨ HeARTy Foods – A food bank providing weekly groceries to households experiencing food insecurity
✨ Veterans Homefront HeARTLine – A dedicated resource bank and support system for Veterans experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity
✨ WholeHeART Whole Health - A free weekly health and wellness clinic facilitated in partnership with CSULB community health nurses AND (coming soon!) a weekend mental health clinic offering free couples, family, and group art therapy with marriage and family therapy trainees

With almost ten years of saying YES to Long Beach under our belts, we are committing now to saying Yes, AND ... we are expanding the scope of our mission to continue to meet the needs of today by embedding our HeART to Home resource into the ongoing operations of the CityHeART Resource Hub for the long-haul.

We're saying Yes, AND we could really use your continued support to sustain this expanded scope of work.

Here’s how you can say YES AND with us:
💛 Become a Monthly Donor: Celebrate 10 years of Saying YES with a gift of $10 per month and help sustain the ongoing and here-to-stay resources at the CityHeART Resource Hub: HeART to Home, HeARTy Foods, WholeHeART Whole Health, & Veterans Homefront HeARTLine. With your support, we can continue to provide stability, healing, and empowerment to the entire community we serve through the CityHeART Resource Hub.

💛 Share this expanded mission with your circle of loved ones and help us grow some love for the CityHeART Resource Hub together.

Your generosity makes it possible for CityHeART to adapt, grow, and continue saying YES to the evolving needs of Long Beach. By joining us as a monthly donor, you’re saying YES AND: yes to healing, yes to resilience, and yes to a stronger, more connected community.

👉 Set up your $10/month gift today at https://bit.ly/40vhd8V

Say YES AND to Supporting Long BeachFor the past decade, CityHeART has said YES to the evolving needs of our community with love, empathy, and compassion. Our mission has always been to ignite healing and empowerment through heART-forward programming, supporting individuals and families navigating t...

01/21/2025

🌟 Ignite Your Voice, Inspire Change 🌟
Your story has the power to change the world.

We are beyond excited to announce that registration is officially OPEN for the Art from Ashes Youth Storytelling Summit! 🎉 This is your moment to step into the spotlight, unlock your creative potential, and join a community of changemakers who are ready to leave their mark on the world.

📅 Date: April 17-20, 2025
📍 Location: Long Beach & Pali Retreat Running Springs
✨ Who’s It For? High School Seniors in Long Beach: Young leaders, dreamers, and storytellers like YOU.

At this one-of-a-kind event, you’ll:
💥 Connect with mentors, peers, and allies who believe in your voice.
💥 Discover how your unique story can spark action and inspire change in your community.
💥 Reclaim your voice, rewrite your story, and reimagine your future.

Because here’s the truth: The world needs your voice.
Your experiences, your perspective, your truth: they matter. They have the power to break down walls, build bridges, and create a brighter future for all of us.

🚀 Don’t wait. The transformation starts here.
👉 Register now: https://bit.ly/3E2hhWd

Let’s celebrate our lived experiences through creative expressions that ignite hope, courage, and action for tomorrow. 🌟



Long Beach, Calif. Long Beach Community Theater Port of Long Beach Century Villages at Cabrillo Long Beach City LBUSD Board Member Erik Miller Long Beach Gives Long Beach USD Lakewood Family YMCA

Unleash Your Story. Ignite Your Potential. The Art From Ashes Youth Storytelling Summit is a transformative weekend designed to reignite the belief that anything is possible. For too many young peo…