Together Again — EBALDC Celebrates 47 Years of Building Affordable Housing and Supportive Community Programming in the East Bay Raises over $500,000 — with $131,000 Pledged for Youth Programs
As the hot September sun lowered behind the trees and the evening air started to cool, our EBALDC Gala Celebration got into full swing at the beautiful urban oasis, Preservation Park in Downtown Oakland. Over 400 supporters showed up in-person for Together Again, the evening’s theme, for the first time in three years to celebrate and support our non-profit work — building affordable housing and providing supportive programs for our residents and community members from birth up through senior years. The evening was also a chance for us to share with all of you, through a series of installations, the many programs and staff that have solidified EBALDC’s role as an essential community anchor, including our highly successful Youth Programs – the focus of the evening’s lively Fund-A-Need campaign.
Standing l-r: Klein Lieu (EBALDC Board Member), Anne Robertson (EBALDC Staff), Sean Sullivan (Chair, EBALDC Board of Directors), Ignacio De La Fuente (President, IDLF Solutions, LLC)
Seated l-r: KM Tan (EBALDC Board Member), Roy Ikeda (Former EBALDC Board Member)
EBALDC Fund-A-Need in action
We raised a record $515,000 to support our Healthy Neighborhoods vision, including the $131,000 pledged to support neighborhood Youth Programs during Fund-A-Need. “We’ve taken in the most donations ever received in one single event in the history of EBALDC,” said Sean Sullivan, Chairman of the Board. “This record-setting event wouldn’t have been possible without our friends at Amazon, First Republic Bank, Square, as well as Chinatown-raised board member Klein Lieu stepping forward with enormous generosity to support Healthy Neighborhoods. The smiles on the faces of our youth when they get one-on-one help on their homework, participate in the Book Club, or get their first job will be because of our amazing community of partners!”
And what a community the EBALDC family is! On hand were EBALDC executives and staff, board members, and founders; Healthy Neighborhoods Pillar Award honorees, The Kresge Foundation, Oakland-based Native American Health Center; and James Brooks, the Lynette Jung Lee Resident Leadership Award-winner. Representatives from the Office of the Mayor, City Council members, and other dignitaries from UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Laney College, BART, and the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce also attended. Major donors included Amazon, First Republic Bank, Square, PNC Bank, Branagh Construction, Silicon Valley Bank, Cahill Construction, BBI Construction, Carpenters 46 Northern California Conference Board, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Beneficial State Bank, Kaiser Permanente, Union Bank, and US Bank.
Agnes Ubalde, Chair, Resource Development & Communications Committee, EBALDC Board of Directors
Teen resident of EBALDC’s affordable family housing Lion Creek Crossings, Aliyah Muhammad, and her mother, Sister Adelya, acknowledged how EBALDC Youth Programs and our staff offered the opportunity for young residents to grow and develop a pathway in life. Aliyah noted she started out as a shy person in the EBALDC Youth Programs, but that was no longer the case as she spoke confidently in front of the hundreds of people gathered. Her mother noted, with a catch in her voice, how youth programming including tech courses by our partner, Hidden Genius, in particular, taught her daughter the skills to now enter San Francisco’s Academy of Art University — where she is building on her already highly developed talent as an illustrator and animation artist.
Sister Adelya looks on as her daughter Aliyah Muhammad speaks to EBALDC guests
Aliyah’s experience is not unique for youth who participate in EBALDC’s Youth Programs. In a recent survey we took at the start of their participation, only 57% of youth stated that they had the skills to handle the problems in their lives. At the end of our one-year program, 100% of the students reported having acquired the skills to face their challenges.
This was not lost on Sally Kay, Amazon’s Regional Head of External Affairs and Public Policy, who exclaimed: “There are so many incredible things these programs do – the youth program funds indoor and outdoor activities, STEM and STEAM curricula, dance and sports, mental health counseling to foster social-emotional learning, career readiness, college guidance, leadership development … we know these things change outcomes for our children.” Ms. Kay then challenged those in attendance to match Amazon’s $50,000 donation to EBALDC’s Fund-A-Need for Youth Programming.
Sally Kay, Regional Head of External Affairs and Public Policy, Amazon
Klein Lieu, the youngest member of the board, was also inspired. A millennial in tech, he made a special appeal while highlighting EBALDC’s legacy and hope for the future. Growing up “surrounded by EBALDC’s magic in Chinatown,” he called on his generation to step up, challenging the crowd to donate as he and his partner, Anais Lieu, started off with a pledge of up to $20,000 matching pledges coming in from the assembled guests.
Klein Lieu, Vice-Chair, Resource Development & Communications Committee, EBALDC Board of Directors
By the end of the Fund-A-Need, 86 of you raised your paddles to ensure our next generation has the resources to thrive.
With Gratitude!
Sean Sullivan, Chair, Board of Directors
Agnes Ubalde, Chair, Resource Development and Communications Committee