Dear Friends
September 2020

Thank you!

Dear Friends, Thanks to you, EBALDC’s 45th Anniversary Gala Celebration last week was an immense success, with over $320,000 raised to support our many programs that “bring health home” – to our residents, community serving businesses, clients and the greater East Bay community. If you missed it, you can still watch it at www.ebaldc45.com.  As this was my last EBALDC Gala as the CEO, I was especially touched by the words of our honorees: Congresswoman Barbara Lee, JPMorgan Chase, represented by Amy Wallace, and Nu Huynh, our Lynette Jung Lee Resident... Read more
Dear Friends
August 2020

Be My Guest: EBALDC’s 45th Anniversary Gala Celebration

Dear Friends, As many of you know, after nearly twenty years at EBALDC, I will be leaving at the end of October of this year. That makes our upcoming 45th Anniversary VIRTUAL Gala Celebration even more special and sentimental to me, as it will be my last EBALDC Gala Celebration as the leader of EBALDC’s talented professional family!  Please join me on Thursday, September 10th at 4pm by registering at www.ebaldc45.com as I begin a new chapter as an EBALDC alumnus and share details of my future plans!  The event is... Read more
Dear Friends
August 2020

It Takes A Village

Dear Friends, This Monday, August 10 is the first day of school for Oakland Unified School District students. For over 6 months now, school administrators, educators, parents, and caregivers have been struggling with how to balance our children’s need for quality education and socialization with the risks of COVID-19. For low-income, immigrant, and other underserved communities, these decisions are further exacerbated by the lack of access to technology, healthcare, food, and other resources, as well as language barriers. At EBALDC, we understand that providing quality affordable housing is just a start. Programs... Read more
Dear Friends
July 2020

We keep each other safe and healthy

Dear Friends, Out of respect for our neighbors, please wear a mask. It’s been over 110 days since Alameda County Public Health Officials ordered the Bay Area to shelter-in-place. With warmer weather, a holiday weekend coming up, and some businesses starting to reopen, many of us are eager to return to some semblance of normal. However, the pandemic is not over. In fact, the numbers in California are growing rapidly. The most devastating effects of the pandemic are on the low-income communities of color that we serve– Many are hourly workers for essential businesses that we... Read more
Dear Friends
June 2020

We are all part of one another

Dear Friends, Last Friday was Juneteenth, the celebration of African American emancipation from slavery. Next week, the 4th of July will be another national celebration of freedom — our country’s independence from Great Britain. But with the looming asterisk of freedom for whom? In fact, Independence Day in 1776 was limited to white males. As Frederick Douglas described it, “What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to... Read more
Press Releases
June 2020

East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation’s CEO Joshua Simon to Step Down from Organization After Nearly 20 Years in Leadership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 10, 2020 Press Contacts:  Layla Crater, layla@change-llc.com, 310-804-3107 Jill Kunishima, jkunishima@ebaldc.org, 510-606-1823 OAKLAND, CA — As part of a defined succession plan, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) today announced that Joshua Simon will step down from the position of Chief Executive Officer in October 2020 after spending nearly two decades as a champion for EBALDC’s unique approach to community development. EBALDC’s Board of Directors will launch a selection committee to identify EBALDC’s next CEO. “Joshua Simon’s innovative and bold leadership has propelled EBALDC’s vision of... Read more
News
June 2020

Mickey’s Story: From Laney College to Financial Wellness

I was recently laid off due to COVID-19, which has made me doubly grateful that I happened to stumble across the Sparkpointprogram through one of my classes at Laney College. Prior to participating in SparkPoint Oakland, I knew that financial coaching programs existed. However, I never knew how to find them, or whether or not I would qualify or be able to afford them, and I never thought they would be as extensive as the help I’ve received through SparkPoint Oakland. I initially thought the SparkPoint Oakland matched savings account program,... Read more
Dear Friends
May 2020

Our Vision of Leadership

Dear Friends, How do we build a deep bench for leadership collaborative leadership? As the pandemic forces us to re-think everything we do and how we do it, leadership at all levels becomes even more important. Over a year ago, EBALDC started thinking about an organizational restructure plan that would offer more opportunities for growth and leadership for our talented staff. The plan is designed to support strong, collaborative decision-making that’s fully oriented around our vision for Healthy Neighborhoods and the four pillars and five goals of our strategic plan. Through... Read more
Dear Friends
April 2020

Let’s Share Life

Dear Friends, As we travel together through this challenging time of sheltering in place, our network of community partners has been critical to finding ways to address the fast-changing problems that impact the neighborhoods that we serve.  A Tongan proverb refers to the importance of sharing resources, exhorting us to: Pikipiki hama, kae vaevae manava — let’s join our outriggers and share life. Since EBALDC was established 45 years ago, we have accomplished more by bringing people, organizations and resources together. Our partnerships and collaborative partners are more important than ever. Together,... Read more