Department of
Health & Human Services

The City of Long Beach is launching its “Season of Giving” donation series to encourage the local community to make someone’s holiday season bright by volunteering their time or contributing physical or monetary donations to support people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach. Donations received during “Season of Giving” will help support the City’s ongoing efforts in providing critical, everyday essentials for people experiencing homelessness. Items will be distributed throughout the holiday and winter seasons.

“As 2023 comes to an end, we invite the community to embrace the holiday spirit and generosity by engaging in our donation and volunteer activities we have lined up this fall and winter,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “We’ve been overwhelmed by the tremendous support from our community this year, and we’re hopeful that even more people will join us in the spirit of giving during our ‘Season of Giving’ campaign.”

Volunteer Your Time

This holiday season and beyond, community members are invited to participate in a variety of volunteer opportunities taking place throughout Long Beach. Hosted by several Long Beach based nonprofits and community groups, volunteers are in need for the following:

• GP God’s People Care Packages and Blankets of Love to help create hygiene kits for their December hygiene and shoes outreach event.
• Long Beach Community Table for their weekly food deliveries and mobile food bank.
• Transitions in Motherhood for their monthly donation and hot meals program benefitting families with young children.
• Food Finders, to support their extensive network of food delivery to many local hot meals and food pantries.
• Precious Lamb to help support their donation center for homeless families and children. Specialized volunteer opportunities also available for people who are certified to work with children.
• St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, which provides free showers, laundry service and clothing for people experiencing homelessness, for their Saturday meal distribution.

Donation Drive Thru Events

Those interested in contributing physical donations are encouraged to participate in one of the upcoming donation drive thru events, where people can drop off a variety of essential items that will be distributed to people experiencing homelessness. The next drive thru will take place on Saturday, Dec. 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) Main Facilities Center, located at 2525 Grand Ave.

The City kindly requests donations of cold weather items like men’s and women’s sweatshirts, pants, coats, socks, blankets, umbrellas and shoes. Holiday themed gifts are also welcomed, as well as any of the following items:

• Hygiene kits or house-warming gift kits from the Multi-Service Center Amazon Wish List.
• Backpacks filled with needed items such as hand warmers, flashlights, battery packs, batteries (usually D batteries), emergency blankets and charging cables.
• Pet care kits with things like pet food, treats, collars, leashes, pet toys or collapsible pet bowls.
• S, M, L, XL or XXL sweatpants, shirts, socks and men’s and women’s underwear, beanies, scarves, caps, hoodies, towels or blankets. Gently used items are appreciated, too.
• Welcome home kits with some of the suggested items above and a special hand-written motivating message to go in the kit.
• Food items like canned food (and small, manual can openers), bottled drinks like juices or water, and snacks such as granola bars or power bars, instant oatmeal and instant soup.

Physical donations received will be distributed at the Multi-Service Center (MSC) to people experiencing homelessness and will also be available to local partner organizations to distribute through their existing outreach methods. While gift cards will not be accepted at drive thru events, they can be donated at the MSC. To schedule a drop-off time, people can call 562.570.4586.

Donation Drop-Off Bins

Donation drop off bins are a quick and easy way to donate essential physical items that can make an impact on someone’s daily life. Bins are located at all open Long Beach Public Library locations during regular business hours, as well as at the below locations:

Boys and Girls Club of Long Beach (3635 Long Beach Blvd.), Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Scherer Park Community Center, (4654 Pasadena Ave.), Monday through Friday 3 to 6 p.m.

Monetary Donations

Residents, businesses and community organizations interested in providing a tax-deductible monetary donation are encouraged to contribute to the Mayor’s Fund for Homeless Action (Mayor’s Fund), administered by the Long Beach Community Foundation and with oversight from Homeless Services Advisory Committee.

The City, in partnership with the Long Beach Community Foundation, recently launched the annual Mayor’s Fund donation campaign, which helps fund grants to Long Beach organizations that address significant needs of people and families in the community who are experiencing homelessness. Residents with a City utility account should have received an informational insert about this year’s campaign inside their October utility bill with information on how to donate.

Monetary donations to the Mayor’s Fund can be made by credit card or check. For more information and to donate, visit the Mayor’s Fund webpage. Local nonprofit organizations and community groups interested in applying for grant opportunities can apply to the City’s Homeless Services Bureau online.

Request Donation

The City continues to provide local organizations that support people experiencing homelessness a portion of the donated items to help further their organization’s mission. Local organizations interested in receiving donations are encouraged to email donations@longbeach.gov. Since launching donation efforts in late February 2023, the City has collected over 27,000 donated items, 14,000 of which have been distributed to people experiencing homelessness and local organizations that provide services and support to people experiencing homelessness. People are encouraged to follow @lbhealthdept and @longbeachcity on social media and follow the hashtag #EveryoneHomeLB for more information on the City’s efforts to reduce homelessness in Long Beach.

The City does not represent or warrant that any donations made to the City are tax deductible. Donors are encouraged to work with their tax professional. Receipts of donations are available at all drop off locations.

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