Confluence Rising (formerly CCEJ)

Confluence Rising (formerly CCEJ) was originally founded as the Long Beach branch of the National Conference for Christians and Jews (NCCJ) in 1963. We've served the Greater Long Beach community for more than 60 years, offering education and training to youth and adults throughout the city, county, and region.  Our mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to lead change for equity and justice for change in our communities.

Your gift today supports transformative education, training and Restorative Justice programs for youth and adults, including:

1. Training more than 400 high schoolers to become leaders for equity and justice through our annual Racial Justice and Gender Justice camps, our Summer Youth Leadership Institute, and Conscious Classrooms in-school workshops. Building Bridges Camps (formerly known as NCCJ's Brotherhood Sisterhood Camp) boast more than 23,000 alumni around the world!
2. Keeping 100 youth out of the justice system each year through our Restorative Justice Youth Diversion program, which has been recognized in LA County as a best practice that can serve as a model for other organizations to adopt.
3. Training and coaching more than 3,000 adults each year to to play a role in transforming our schools, workplaces and communities to be more just and equitable.
4. Bringing more than 500 people together for dialogue and learning at our 2026 community events, including our annual Roots of Justice Convening in February, Love Day in June and United Against Hate Care Breakfast in October.

Thank you for supporting Confluence Rising and our vision of a world where people live free of oppression and thrive!

Testimonials.

"Sharing helps others feel safe. Connecting with others opens doors for us to be better leaders. I will use what I learn to be an upstander and advocate for others." -  Youth Leader

"Camp is a place that you can openly be yourself without judgement. Our racial affinity groups had much-needed conversations to bring us to more common ground. I’m ready to become a youth leader to continue these convos at school and at home!"  - Youth Leader

"Confluence Rising's diversion program helped me see that I'm not the only one going through things, and I learned how to deal with my emotions. We learned that we won't have to be defined by what some would consider our biggest mistakes." - Restorative Youth Diversion program graduate

"During our program, our facilitators emphasized that all humans want and deserve to feel seen, heard, and understood. This is a compass that guides the ways that I show up to conflict transformation work with others- it guides my self-reflection and awareness, my listening skills, my empathy, and how I hold other people's stories and needs." - Adult Training Participant

"As someone who has dedicated my career to youth studies, I know that real change starts with empowering young people to lead. I support Confluence Rising because their work is the critical link between hope and action, creating the skilled, empathetic leaders our future urgently needs." - Matt Rafalow, Board Membership Chair

"The forces of injustice, inequality, and fear never rest, and so our mission to educate and empower continues with equal resolve as we work to draw on, instead of disregard, our humanity." - Aaron Boulding, Board Member

"We empower our youth to develop empathy and understanding of themselves and others in our community. In this increasingly polarized world, the work that we do brings me hope that we are preparing our young people to build relationships, look beyond differences, and dream for a brighter future." - Dr. Shireen Pavri, Board Member