On Thursday, April 25, the Long Beach Post hosted an event to honor young people from around the city who are doing great things to better their community and beyond. Out of hundreds of nominations from our readers, judges chose 40 winners who run the gamut from educators to artists to business owners to community activists, all of whom represent just a selection of those who are today contributing to the betterment of Long Beach.

Tony Damico help found two nonprofit organizations in the city that look to bring the community together by empowering the people that live in it. Shift Long Beach, formed in 2009, aims to create positive social change through educational and interactive events and provide platforms for artistic expression. And Time Exchange Long Beach, which was formed in 2010, is a time banking organization that promotes the exchange of skills and services using time credits instead of currency. Damico is also a professor at Long Beach City College and performs electronic music under the stage name Memesy.

Learn more about Shift Long Beach at shiftlb.blogspot.com. Learn more about the Long Beach Time Exchange at timeexchangelb.wordpress.com.