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His Little Feet continues to lend a hand (or shoes) to kids in need

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His Little Feet continues to lend a hand (or shoes) to kids in need

Within the past year, His Little Feet has experienced many hardships that have occurred as the result of COVID-19. However, this Long Beach based charity has continued with their effort to provide shoes to struggling kids in poverty. 

His Little Feet (HLF) is a children’s shoes charity that serves underprivileged youth in Los Angeles and Orange County. Their work involves collecting and distributing new socks and shoes to inner city schools, shelters and homeless services.  

Hai Wolf, founder and executive director shares that the charity began in 2014 when her own children had outgrown their shoes and needed new ones. However, while in this process she stumbled upon a bigger problem. 

“We heard that at Jane Addams Elementary, kids were taping their shoes up so that their socks wouldn’t get wet during the rainy days,” Wolf said.  

She decided to do something about this and made the initiative of putting together a shoe collection. In the end, roughly 200 pairs of shoes were donated to the elementary school.

“The counselor was thrilled and asked us to keep them coming because the need was so large,” Wolf said. 

Since then, the charity has expanded and as of January 2021, HLF has collected over $1 million dollars’ worth of shoes and socks. Their long-term goal is to keep growing, helping those in surrounding states and even internationally. 

“Every year we try to do at least one thing out of state where there’s a huge need,” Wolf said. Such as in 2017 when HLF contributed to the hurricane Harvey relief. 

But for the members of this charity, providing shoes to children means more than just giving them a resource. In a 2019 interview with The Grunion, Wolf said: “It’s not just about shoes that fit, it’s also about how (kids) feel in the shoes.” 

Millikan student Alisha Seewald agrees. “I think school can kind of be a place where it’s really easy to let other people’s opinions on what you look like get in the way of just simply wanting to be there,” Seewald said. “It sounds kind of weird, but having nice clothes and shoes just feels good and I guess is just one less thing to worry about.”   

Yet like most small businesses in the past year, HLF has faced quite a financial struggle due to the pandemic. In a time where many people are trying to provide enough for themselves, donations have become only a fraction of what they were previously. 

“We used to receive close to 3,000 pairs of shoes a year and now that’s dropped off to maybe a few hundred pairs,” said Wolf. “We’ve been having to collect more funds and purchase the shoes ourselves just so we can get some of the need met. But we haven’t been able to meet the need quite the same.” 

Additionally, the organization has had to let some of their help go due to not qualifying for the Paycheck Protection Program. Wolf calls this moment a “turning point” and is trying her best to keep their doors open.  

Most recently, the charity announced their second annual Heart & Sole Fundraising Gala that is scheduled for June 5th at The Grand in Long Beach. The night will include a 3-course dinner, live entertainment, and an auction.  

Despite the challenges, His Little Feet has stayed true to their motto of stomping out the stigma of poverty in our community one pair of shoes at a time. 

For more information on the charity or the Gala go to www.hislitfeet.org.

New bill proposes ethnic studies courses mandatory for community colleges

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New bill proposes ethnic studies courses mandatory for community colleges

Legislative bill AB 1040, Muratsuchi, was among the many bills that were discussed in the “Policy Issues for 2021 Session” section of the legislative update during the Long Beach City College Board of Trustees Meeting on March 24.

Wendy Koenig, Art History Professor and Chairwoman for the Curriculum Committee of LBCC, said “We’re absolutely ahead of the game, ready to go,” about the bill.

The bill requires each community college district to offer courses in ethnic studies at each of its campuses commencing with the 2022-23 academic year. The bill was introduced last year but did not move due to the pandemic.

This bill comes after the passing of Assembly Bill 1460, Weber, which requires CSU students to take ethnic studies courses to graduate commencing with the class of 2024-25.

“As soon as we learned that (ethnic studies at CSU’s) would be a lower division, we immediately went to work,” said the chairwoman.

Koenig reached out to faculty members asking for an interest in writing a course for ethnic studies since they were highly interested in being a part of the agreement.

“We actually created a course that we wrapped up in December. It was approved so we have an ethnic studies course which is an introduction to ethnic studies course and an honors course,” said Professor Koenig. 

The course was approved locally, chaptered at the chancellor’s office and submitted to the CSU to get their approval in hopes of adding it to the Plan B course pattern. The course has also been discussed to be included with the Plan A course pattern.

“We feel really good about AB1040 coming forward because we’ve already responded in anticipation of it. Everybody that I’ve talked to in our curriculum committee is extremely supportive of even adding perhaps an ethnic studies requirement before we heard about this one,” said Koenig.

According to Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs, Kathy Scott, the passage of this bill is critical for the future of higher learning.

Vice President Scott said, “The passage of this legislation is critical. We’ve been working very hard at our institution to be more inclusive of our students and their backgrounds and experiences in our curriculum.”

For LBCC and the requirements for the CSU’s, the ethnic studies course has to address the following groups; Asian American, Native American, African American and Latinx. LBCC’s course will address all four.

“We want students generally to be aware of the experiences of others and have the opportunities to discuss those experiences to think critically about them. It adds to an environment that’s respectful and inclusive of everyone and it helps make students into well rounded citizens who have that background to be empathetic and to feel the experiences of others,” said the vice president.

The death of George Floyd was an incredible turning point in the nation’s political climate. The resulting protests have shown the need for racial inclusivity for all races affected in our country.

Professor Koenig said, “I think that the political environment and many of the events that are taking place right now have only encouraged colleges to think about this is important. People need to understand their history and they need to understand why these things are such long standing problems and how we can address them.” 

As a result of the inclusion of ethnic studies at the college, VP Scott hopes that courses make students more inclusive in them. 

“We hope that students will feel more of a sense of belonging and that our curriculum is being as responsive to their backgrounds and their experiences,” said Vice President Scott.

Professor Koenig added, “Students respond so much more when they feel like they are part of a class when their histories are recognized, when their cultures are recognized and when they’re valued.”

The school is looking at Fall 2021 to have the introduction to ethnic studies course available. Three professors already on staff are qualified to teach the courses and the school is searching for a full time instructor to teach it as well.

Professor Koenig said, “That’s a really good sign that the institution is supportive and is very serious about making this happen because potentially every student who wants to transfer is going to take this … It’s really exciting, I think people are really on board.”

LGBTQ Center of Long Beach will discuss community issues during a virtual workshop

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LGBTQ Center of Long Beach will discuss community issues during a virtual workshop

LBCC Student Life will host a virtual SafeZone LGBTQIA+ 101 workshop on April 27th at 1pm to discuss issues and barriers faced by the LGBTQ community. 

The workshop’s guest speaker will be Joel Gemino, a youth and family services manager from The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach. Gemino has worked at the center for 7 years and manages social programs and group services for the LGBTQ community. 

During the workshop, Gerimo will address issues faced by members of the LGBTQ community, including those occurring in the city of Long Beach. 

“We’re seeing here in Long Beach that there is a good amount of homeless youth that are LGBTQ…We also are seeing a lack of jobs..there is higher absenteeism..there are lower grade point averages. We also have very plainly, people who are actively violent against (LGBTQ) folks as well,” said Gemino. 

Gemino said that these issues have been heightened amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He also plans to address the difference between sex and gender, and LGBTQ identity development during the workshop. 

“Our systems and institutions are all catering to certain types of identities, mainly cisgender folks and straight folks… I’m hoping that with this education…the campus will start to chip away at some of those long held beliefs that might be really damaging or create barriers for LGBTQ students and staff,” said Gemino. 

LBCC Healthy Viking coordinator Sergio Grimaldi hopes that this workshop will promote greater inclusivity within the school community. 

“We definitely want to provide this foundation for students and staff… We want students to know that there’s allies on campus,” said Grimaldi. 

“Especially for LBCC, we want a campus that really reflects the values of the people that are in our city. When you look at Long Beach being one of the most diverse places in the country, we have such opportunities, but we also have such obligations to continue to educate ourselves,” said Gemino. 

Gemino and Grimaldi encourage all LBCC students, staff, and faculty to attend the workshop. 

Gemino said that the workshop will provide useful information for members of the LGBTQ community and allies, as well as those with no previous knowledge of issues faced by the LGBTQ community.

“We’ve made space for this 101 workshop for folks to come in who may feel like they haven’t been exposed to or don’t understand LGBTQ identity. Some people just don’t know where to start, and this is a great starting place,” said Gemino. 

To pre-register for the workshop, click here. 

Board of Trustees discuss audit key players with public

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Board of Trustees discuss audit key players with public

On April 14, the Long Beach Board of Trustees Audit Committee held a meeting for the public to discuss the key players involved in the audit, their roles and a potential timeline. 

An audit is an inspection of financial records by independent bodies, LBCC does one every year with their auditing firm with the auditing team as intermediaries. 

There are three groups, the Committee staffed by the LBCC board of trustee members and faculty, the auditing team and the auditing firm. The Committee consists of a handful of trustees, including Uduak-Joe Ntuk, Virginia Baxter, Mike Munoz, Marlene Drinwine, John Thompson, and Cindy Baker. 

The committee met with the auditing team to help interface with Clifton Larson Allen LLP which is LBCC’s auditing firm. The auditing team consists of directors Heather Mcgee and Syed Farhand, senior auditor Ricardo Prado and Resource Principal Renee Graves. 

The audit team clarified their role in this situation and their position as intermediary between the school and the auditing firm. 

Mcgee began by asking about the reopening plans for LBCC. 

Interim Superintendent-President Mike Munoz answered, “We are still finalizing plans for fall … but our initial planning, we are looking at roughly between 30 to 35 percent of our course offerings being in face to face format.” 

He went on to explain that plans may change as they continue to assess the impact of online classes on certain sectors. 

The timeline for the audit is roughly starting in April and ending around December when they have to present their reports to the committee and the firm management. 

Farhand said, “The timeline today is the official start of the audit process. We will be performing preliminary procedures in April … presenting final reports to the board by the respective due date which would be around November to December.” 

Around the middle of the meeting, Farhand explained the responsibility of all parties involved. 

Farhand said, “governance is responsible for strategic direction. Management is responsible for… the fair presentation of financial statements.”  Lastly, Farhand clarified the role of the audit team which is to apply presentation of the financial statements that are prepared by management and perform the audit.

Near the end of the meeting, Graves explained the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the audit goals in a public setting. 

Graves said, “It’s very important to know what the process looks like… so you have a good understanding of what we know our roles are and our role clearly is that we work for governance and we work with management.”  


For more information, the recording of the meeting is available online on the LBCC YouTube channel.

Students learn about saving money amid a pandemic

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Students learn about saving money amid a pandemic

If the pandemic placed you in a tough financial situation, one way to help is by using the bares-bone budget. This type of budgeting helps gain clarity on the types of expenses you have.

Oscar Velasco, a business financial specialist from LBS Financial Credit Union hosted the workshop via Zoom for LBCC students. Velasco establishes steps that show you how to save up and spend properly, which will allow you to have a more balanced budget for the long run. 

“It’s really important to remember every single dollar spent because when you start nailing down and cutting down your expenses you will see how much money you can potentially save, ” said Velasco. 

Velasco introduces steps such as nailing down your monthly spending, getting clear on your needs vs wants, slashing non-essential expenses which make up your bare bone expenses once defined. He gives a rundown on how to properly calculate each expense. 

A crucial part in understanding the process of the bare bones budget is separating your needs vs your wants. Keeping in mind that rent, car credit payment and gas should be more of a priority which would be your needs. The wants would be money spent on Starbucks, Netflix and happy hour and this will help you recognize what’s most important.

“Every time you eat out you spend on average 60% more than you will do eating at home according to studies,” said Velasco. 

“During lockdown I was stuck at home with nothing to do so it was easy to subscribe to streaming services like Hulu or Disney+ or also going online and cashing out on Amazon,” said Isaiah Escobar, a student at LBCC that attended the Zoom event.

It is important to look at your nonessential spendings and ask yourself if they are really things you need. For instance, putting in effort to cancel unesserary subscriptions that are difficult to cancel when they require more than a phone call. 

“You’re going to total your brand new expenses and you will see how much you can save by stopping all of the wants, whatever the number is, is the number you will use for motivation to stay on track,” said Velasco. 

Giving up Starbucks coffees, concerts, going out and overall unnecessary spendings isn’t easy however the money you save up is what you can use as motivation. 

“Be aware of what ATMs your financial institution allows you to make free withdrawals at,” said Velasco. 

Velasco also discussed how within a month you may be spending around $20 in ATM withdrawals, which adds up to $240 a year. This is money that could go into a savings account. 

“40% of americans by the age of 40 do not have $1000 in a savings account,” said Velasco. 

Oscar Velasco hopes that these steps help students with creating an emergency fund for any given occasion or simply understanding how to spend money effectively and to be aware of the fees that may come with those purchases. 

Saint Anthony High School to put on virtual production of Now. Here. This.

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Saint Anthony High School to put on virtual production of Now. Here. This.

Saint Anthony High School in Long Beach is getting ready to open their first virtual musical, Now. Here.This. this coming weekend. This will be the second virtual production Saint Anthony has performed during pandemic circumstances, the first being William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night which was performed in fall of 2020. 

Now. Here. This. was chosen as the spring musical for its flexibility, according to the producer and director of the piece, Daniel Nakawatase. “Instead of scenes, it’s divided up into a series of modules, there is a certain number of required modules and a certain number of optional modules, so it could be anywhere from 30 minutes [in length] to an hour and a half,” said Nakawatase. 

Since this show is not going to be performed live, Nakawatase had to relearn how to use video editing software. Using Final Cut Pro, he notes the program is intuitive to use, but it was still a skill he had to use that would not be used with an in person musical. 

The process of putting on a musical virtually has it’s differences, but somewhat similar. In person, rehearsals for musicals last around 3-3 ½ months, virtually that timetable is about the same. 

When you rehearse in person, it allows the director and students to really visualize the context of the show, but virtually the director is the only one with that knowledge. Twelfth Night had the help of green screens to generate backdrops. Now. Here. This. may be bringing some creativity back. Since the world is opening back up, the students’ comfort level on going out places will determine the diversity of backdrops. 

The students do everything individually in their own homes. When they are filming a speaking segment, they record it live. With singing however, they record the vocals separately and lip sync when they film. 

The students need to get approval for their vocals before they can commence with the filming element of a song; the corresponding video clip submitted for the song also needs to be approved.

Since everything is done individually, this can pose difficulties if the scene a student is doing requires a scene partner. The students rely on the reaction they learned during Zoom rehearsals and translate that to film, but there can still be a disconnect since the scene partners can’t be physically together. 

Not being able to act physically as a scene partner was a challenge junior Angelina Garcia had to overcome. “There are a few scenes where I’m having a conversation with someone but I’m not going to be [actually] talking to that person, and there are times where I don’t feel like I’m putting in enough emotion,” said Garcia. 

Some other skills Garcia had to learn in the virtual process were all film based. Garcia expressed that she had learned how to set up and work with different types of shots when filming. Including the importance of lighting. 

Garcia expressed as well that she thinks the material for this show should be more accessible than Twelfth Night might have been, aside from the fact it is in modern English. “The storylines that come with Now. Here. This. are stories that one can actually connect with and relate to…it highlights a lot of challenges and issues about growing up,” said Garcia. 

Now. Here. This. premieres this Friday night, April 23, but has multiple performances on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available via the school website.

Crowd unites for guilty verdict

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Crowd unites for guilty verdict

A crowd of peaceful demonstrators gathered on the corner of Florence and Normandie Ave. in South Los Angeles to unite and commend the guilty verdict of Derek Chauvin.

This intersection is just days away from being the 29 year anniversary of violent events stemming from the L.A. Riots of 1992, which were the result of a not guilty verdict in an early modern example of police brutality caught on tape.

Loud music played, including that of the late rapper DMX, while demonstrators sang along and waved various signs and flags in support of the verdict and Black Lives Matter.

Members of the crowd spoke to each other about the news, while also opening up about this being the start of a long road ahead for justice and police accountability.

Chalk sidewalk art checklist written by protestors. Photo by Jacyn King.
Chalk sidewalk art checklist written by protestors. Photo by Jacyn King.

The smells of an impromptu taco stand wafted across the sidewalk while multiple people wrote messages on the sidewalk with colorful chalk. 

“Know justice, know peace,” “Black Lives Matter,” “All cops are Chauvin,” and “Black & Brown Unity,” were among many messages drawn on the sidewalk.

Drivers passing by honked loudly and pumped their fists out their windows and sunroofs to show their support. 

One driver honked and held up a bottle of cognac, another driver in a convertible had plain black and smiley-face balloons billowing out the back seat.

The police had no presence at this demonstration although a few police cruisers passed through and were accompanied by a silent chorus of middle fingers from the crowd. 

Eventually a LAPD helicopter circled above overhead for a couple of passes, being mostly ignored by the crowd, before moving on.

Two Long Beach residents share how prop 22 has affected them

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Two Long Beach residents share how prop 22 has affected them

Two residents of the city of Long Beach who work for Doordash and Postmates share their thoughts on proposition 22 and the effects that it has brought to their income. 

Proposition 22 (prop 22) was voted on and passed in last year’s November election. The changes came into effect on January 1. Prop 22 allows app-based delivery companies to classify their workers as contractors instead of employees. Being classified as a contractor takes away the obligation of companies like DoorDash, Lyft, and others to pay benefits such as worker’s compensation and health insurance in California. 

“I think it is still a good law because even though it can be hard at times picking up orders I would say most of the time I still receive a good amount of money that I get to keep for myself and help out my family who live in Long Beach as rent can be high at times,” said Arturo Vega, a Postmates contractor. 

Vega and other drivers share the same sentiment of using app-based delivery jobs to help pay for everyday needs such as bills, school supplies or personal utilities. These needs have been difficult to afford because of the job losses that have resulted during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I went full-time to Long Beach City College when things were in person. I had to be in class and now I’m either studying or in a Zoom lecture. I needed more money to help out my family with rent so my best option for a job was Postmates. I get to make my own schedule so I do it whenever I want,” said Vega.   

Since prop 22 was passed, some food delivery drivers in the Long Beach area did not know what type of change they would start seeing in their pay. With many expecting their pay to decrease because of drivers being considered independent contractors instead of employees. 

“Before Prop 22, our pay for each order averaged from three to six dollars and it’s still the same in my opinion. I mainly rely on people who tip but if I would say what is different I’ve seen, would be the Doordash adjustment where they give you a certain amount of money depending on how many hours you work,” said Crystal Martinez a DoorDash contractor.

As part of Prop 22 companies such as Postmates, Doordash and Uber Eats offer their drivers guaranteed earnings which is what Martinez is referring to. 

This means that if an app-based driver doesn’t reach the earnings guaranteed by this proposition the company the driver works for will top their earnings. This ensures contractors receive money even if they don’t reach the goal placed by their company. The amount of extra earnings that the driver receives depends on the miles they circulated in a two-week period. 

“I actually voted in favor of it because in the emails that I would receive about it from Postmates it said that we would have guaranteed earnings so to me it seemed like the right move,” said Vega. 

“I voted against it because being an independent contractor means that if anything were to happen it would fully be up to me, which I find difficult since I only deliver the food. Not only do we put in our time and effort but jobs like these make us use our car, gas, and car maintenance,” said Martinez. 

In order to encourage residents to vote yes for the proposition, these companies put in effort to persuade people it was the right move by sending frequent email to users and drivers. These frequent emails highlighted two main benefits for passing prop 22 which would be driver’s benefits with earnings and occupational accident insurance for injuries that occur while delivering food.

Vega and Martinez feel the emails sent out only highlighted the positive aspects instead of an overall overview of the challenges that it could bring once the proposition was passed. Overall, being fully informed before voting would’ve been more helpful.

Long Beach Airport prepares for acceleration in flight activity

David Gonzales
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Long Beach Airport prepares for acceleration in flight activity

As vaccines become more readily available for Californians, the Long Beach Airport is preparing for a rise in flight and passenger traffic according to a memo issued on April 6.

The memo issued an update for the City Council on its new plans for terminal improvements going forward after its halt from the pandemic. 

The pandemic was detrimental to the airport but Claudia Lewis, manager of finance and administration for the airport, has learned a lot from the past year.

“One of things that we’ve learned (from the pandemic) is that we are resilient and flexible. We are able to make adjustments to quickly react to the massive drop in passengers we had,” said Lewis.

According to the commercial flight activity report for the month of April of 2020, the airport saw a total of 6,299 passengers which is the lowest amount of passengers the airport had for the year. It’s also a 98% decrease of total passengers from the previous year as April of 2019 saw 296,941 passengers.

March of 2021 was said to be one of their best months in terms of passenger activity since the beginning of the pandemic according to Lewis.

“The numbers aren’t finalized but it looks like we’re going to be down about 60% of our normal traffic levels. That sounds like a lot, but when you compare it to some of our worst months in the pandemic it definitely shows we’re moving into the right direction,” said the manager of finance and administration.

The increase of flight activity and passengers comes from the vaccine rollouts according to Lewis. 

“One of the things that really helped is the city’s rollout and distribution of the vaccine,” Lewis said about the increase of flight activity and passengers.

The city of Long Beach has provided an immense effort throughout the vaccine rollout with its VAXLB information page that provides useful information for the distribution of the vaccines. 

Lauren Berger, a frequent flyer who’s flown during the pandemic, isn’t necessarily sure if the vaccine is the reason why there’s an increase of more flyers but rather the boredom most have faced during the pandemic.

Berger said, “I wonder if it’s confidence or if a lot of it is just getting bored, getting to the end of people’s ropes. With my friends I’ve seen that more than increased confidence per se.”

The airport has received a generous amount of financial assistance from the following grants; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA) and American Rescue Plan (ARPA).

The Long Beach Airport has made tremendous efforts in making a sanitary and comfortable flying experience again. 

“We’re always focused on the customer’s experience, it’s something we’ve pride ourselves on. One of the things we’re really honing in on now is a touchless travel experience that will contribute to,” said Lewis. 

The Airport received the ACI Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) which was earned for the effort they’ve put into keeping the facility clean and safe for travel.

These grants will be used for the airport’s “Phase II” terminal area improvements which include a new ticketing building and the installation of Amadeus Airport Common Use Service (ACUS). ACUS is a cloud based system that maximizes the efficiency of terminal check ins and boarding areas.

According to Lewis, the next step for the future of the airport is to inform the public of the amount of work and resilience the airport has made in preparation for the return of normality in flying.

Earth Day 2021: One Earth and One Chance

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Earth Day 2021: One Earth and One Chance

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 each year around the world. Women, men, and youth all participate by recycling, picking up litter, and signing petitions. This year’s theme will be called “Restore our Earth.”

Earth Day was started by Gaylord Nelson, former senator of Wisconsin, who proposed and started the first nationwide environmental protest in the 1970s.

Nigel Hancock, a geography and environmental science professor at LBCC said, “Global warming and climate change are major issues we are facing today. The cause of climate change is the process of burning any type of fossil fuels like natural gas, petroleum (oils) and coal. When fossil fuels are burned Greenhouse gasses are released and carbon dioxide goes into the air which then causes Earth’s global temperatures to rise.”

The focus of Earth Day is to recycle more and promote cleaner and healthier living, This day aims to raise awareness for issues like climate change, global warming, water, soil and air pollution which are all causing harm to our planet.

The website earthday.org states that the first Earth Day in 1970 mobilized millions of Americans for the protection of the planet. On April 22nd, 1970.20 million Americans and 10% of the U.S. population at the time took to the streets, college campuses and hundreds of cities to protest environmental ignorance and demand a new forward for our planet.

According to EAT, a non-profit organization, changing our eating habits and eating more organic products can keep us healthy and can help avoid the further development of global warming because research shows diet can affect the environment. 

Change can be made by simply eating healthier alternatives like vegetarian foods and reducing any meat intake.

According to the Los Angeles Region Report of California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, which depends on a scheme characterized by increasing greenhouse gas emissions over time, projects one to two feet of sea level rise by 2050, and more extreme projections lead to eight to ten feet of sea level rise by the end of the century. 

Hancock said, “What we are learning is if we want the climate of the world to go in a direction of something we recognize we have to get rid of all fossil fuel gasses by 2050 and we have to have half of this done nine years from now.”

The more carbon is burned will further contribute to the rise of global warming. It is not healthy to continue in the same direction. 

West Long Beach faces difficulty when it comes to air pollution because of the many cranes and the Port of Long Beach being near. However, the Adaptation Plan and Climate Action had been confirmed on January 5 by the Long Beach council. The Climate Action Adaptation plan is anticipated to be adopted by the Fall of 2021.

Physical science instructor at LBCC Faraz Shahbazian shared some ways that we can celebrate Earth Day.

Shahbazian said, “The ways we can celebrate Earth Day this year; plant a garden in your backyard or start a plant collection, take a walk, educate yourself, donate, post on social media outlets, start a compost, make your voice be heard, take a virtual adventure, and join any Earth Day’s 24 Hours of Action amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and recycle.”

Recycling is a good way to help the earth becasue it reprocesses used materials. Not only does it do good for our earth but it is a plus for earning money. 

A way you can celebrate Earth Day besides advocating online, cleaning up local areas or recycling is by joining The Aquarium of the Pacific with a virtual celebration by visiting this link on Saturday, April 24.

As students and millennials, we are the future of the world. We can volunteer and participate in various different ways to celebrate Earth Day that will help bring positive changes to our ecosystem and environment. 

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