Oakland Community After School Alliance

California State University, East Bay in collaboration with the Oakland Public Library will launch the Big Read in Oakland this upcoming February. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.  www.theoakalndcenter.com

In Oakland’s first year participating in this exciting program, Ernest Gaines’ novel, A Lesson Before Dying will be celebrated in various forms of public events, book clubs, art shows, theater productions, and more.

During February and March the Big Read will join Oakland neighborhoods, bringing various events inspired by the novel and its themes. These events will include film screenings, teen art exhibits, panel discussions, poetry readings, theater performances, music, and more.

During the Big Read, energy will be focused on reaching the nonreaders of Oakland.  These nonreaders include everyone from teenagers to working professionals, it is our hope that by including activities that integrate various mediums of art we will excite and inspire typically reluctant readers to pick up the book!

By partnering in this month of activities you are helping to promote literacy and the arts in our strong and diverse community.  We have books to give away for adult and teen readers.

JOIN US FOR THE BIG READ!
LIVE THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE MARCH 4 @ OAKLAND MAIN LIBRARY
PERFORMANCES AT 6:15 AND 7 PM

Visit http://www.yearup.org/ for information about this Paid
Internship/Training Program for Youth.

Year Up is a one-year, intensive training program that provides urban young
adults 18-24, with a unique combination of technical and professional
skills, college credits, an educational stipend and corporate
apprenticeship.

Our success is our graduates — enabling them to move on to full-time
employment and higher education. Year Up is about providing opportunities
for urban young adults to demonstrate their true potential.

We have achieved excellent results to date:
. 100% placement of qualified students into apprenticeships . 83% student
retention . 90% of apprentices meet or exceed apprenticeship partner
expectations . 87% of graduates placed in full or part-time positions within
4 months of graduation . $15/hr average wage at placement

Provide Fortune 100 companies like Merrill Lynch, American Express, Lehman
Brothers and Bank of America with Information Technology entry-level talent.
Throughout the course of one year, our students earn up to 16 college
credits from Pace University learn technical and professional skills and are
placed in paid internships.  Year Up is currently recruiting student for
our next
class of young professionals. We are looking for High School graduates or
GED recipients ages 18-24 who may not know what to do next, attend college
or work full-time.

East Bay and other Bay Area children and teens ages 6-17 who have experienced the loss of a parent, friend, or loved one are invited to apply for Camp Erin Oakland/Bay Area, which is offered free of charge. Hosted by Hospice By The Bay in partnership with The Moyer Foundation, this fun, high-energy, healing weekend will be held Friday, August 8th through Sunday, August 10th at the CYO Retreat Center in Sonoma County. Camp Erin focuses on helping children express their grief, build trust and self-esteem, and learn to cope with their loss through age-appropriate therapeutic activities, recreation, and relaxation. Hospice By The Bay grief counselors and trained volunteers will create a caring environment and lead expressive art projects, supportive discussions, and healing rituals. Recreational activities include swimming, campfires, hiking, sports, games, and crafts.

Transportation from the Hospice By The Bay office in Marin County to the camp site in Occidental will be available. Applications for the free camp are available through the Hospice By The Bay Bereavement Department, (415) 526-5558. The registration deadline is Friday, May 23rd.

Hospice By The Bay has long recognized that grieving children need support that is different from adults. The organization began hosting its annual Youth Bereavement Camp seven years ago. This is the first year that Hospice is partnering with The Moyer Foundation to create Camp Erin Oakland/Bay Area.

Hospice’s expertise made it a perfect partner to support the Foundation’s ambition to create children’s bereavement camps in every U.S. city with a Major League Baseball team. Oakland Athletics President Michael Crowley says of the A’s involvement: “The Oakland A’s organization is honored to be a part of The Moyer Foundation and its efforts to support grieving children through Camp Erin in the Bay Area. We would like to thank Jamie and Karen Moyer on their vision and dedication to such a worthy cause.” Oakland Athletics’ Third Baseman Eric Chavez and his wife Alex are local advocates of Camp Erin Oakland/Bay Area.

For more information, click here: Flier

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