BIXBY KNOLLS IS BEST!

Dear Friends,

I am writing to ask you to support the Bixby Knolls Community Foundation (BKCF) as part of this year's Long Beach Gives.  Please note:  The BKCF is a tightly linked partner organization to the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association (BKBIA).  I can’t talk about one without talking about the other.

While there are many excellent local charitable groups that could use your funds, I want you to know why John and I consider the Bixby Knolls Community Foundation to be at the top of our list of extra- worthy choices. 

As we ease into our 70's (somewhat gracefully, we hope), we are especially aware of how much we have loved and continue to love the community where we raised our children, and where we continue to call home (we moved to Cal Heights in 1985 and then to Los Cerritos in 1996).

Over the almost four decades of being here, we have seen the Bixby Knolls Business Corridor undergo a sweeping transformation.   And that transformation can be traced directly to Blair Cohn, and his fabulously talented team at BKBIA.  BKBIA IS SPECIAL.  Let me repeat this:  BKBIA IS SPECIAL.  What sets BKBIA apart is the magical combination of joy, fun, inclusion, irreverence, and whimsy they skillfully inject into the many activities BKBIA hosts.  BKBIA has shown us what it means to celebrate our local businesses and to build a strong community.

We have been spoiled by having this caliber of activity literally at our doorsteps.  Truly spoiled.  The redevelopment funds that kickstarted BKBIA are no more.  Funding now comes via the BKCF.  Which is why it is especially incumbent upon all of us to recognize the hard work, creativity, and passion underlying the BKBIA team by ensuring they can continue to spoil us even more.  Some of their dollars are spent enhancing our community in ways that may go unseen by the casual observer.  BKBIA funds cleans streets, private security, and maintains landscaping in some of the community areas (I love the Bixby Knolls National Park!).  They provide essential resources for our local small businesses (flash events, grants for vandalisms/break-ins, marketing support, façade improvements, etc.).  And they are always looking for ways to do more, such as expanding and improving First Fridays in 2025, and providing more free & accessible cultural events in Bixby Knolls (e.g., Khmer New York, KUBO/Filipino Parol Festival, Oktoberfest, Hispanic Heritage Month, Concerts in the Park(ing lot) to name just some of these outreach efforts).

If you participate in first Fridays, if you dance (or watch the dancers) at the Concerts in the Park(ing Lots), listen to music at Knights at the Round (turn)Table, ride with the families at Kidical Mass, walk with the walkers, read with the readers, or enjoy the many different eating options walkable from your home, then you have the BKBIA to thank  

So please join me in thanking BKBIA by donating to the Bixby Knolls Community Foundation as part of the 2024 Long Beach Gives.  If we give, then they will continue to care for us.  And we can continue to be proud of our community.  Together.

Your friend and neighbor,

Janet Leonards