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November 15, 2007, Oakland, CA – As the holiday season for giving thanks, giving gifts, and giving back approaches, many people in the East Bay turn toward volunteering for worthy causes – and the East Bay Community Foundation has a list of "Ten Things We Can Do in the East Bay to Help the World."
A 2003 report compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that more than 60 million Americans contribute more than $15 billion in their time and labor annually to causes and institutions around the country. And between 2002 and 2005, according to a report published by The Points of Light Foundation, volunteering in the U.S. increased by 12 percent. |
Since as much as one third of charitable giving in the U.S. occurs during October, November, and December, now is the time when those in the East Bay inclined to "give back" through volunteering are searching for opportunities.
"Based on the Foundation’s presence in the East Bay for 79 years, based on our past research, based on our current work assessing problems and deepening understanding of issues facing our communities," said Nicole Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer of the East Bay Community Foundation, "we have a clear view of the issue areas where volunteers can do great good."
Here is the Foundation’s list: |
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| "Ten Things We Can Do in the East Bay to Help the World": |
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| 1. |
Education. Lack of public financial support for education has led to deteriorating school facilities, under-paid and under-appreciated teachers and staff, underperforming students, and fewer programs that supplement the normal school day. Make a difference with one after-school program or at one school in need. Helping one program or one school can mean helping hundreds of children. |
| 2. |
Nature. Our intimate connections with nature are priceless. They are also threatened by poorly planned urban development and weak environmental stewardship. Find a cause protecting, enhancing, or creating vital open space, agriculture or public parks and help re-connect urban children and families with nature. |
| 3. |
Race, Equity and Opportunity. There are countless programs and organizations dedicated to reforming the inequities associated with race, immigration, criminal justice, education, health and other systems. Support the work of one or more of these organizations. |
| 4. |
The Arts. Prose and poetry. Painting. Sculpture. Music. Theater. Dance. Architecture. Film. These and countless other arts whose creativity propel the spirit are vital but lacking in resources. Support the art that touches you most deeply and you’ll ensure that acts of truth and beauty will become more than random.` |
| 5. |
Voting. Fewer and fewer people are exercising the fundamental right and responsibility to vote. When people don’t vote, leaders who make public policy are chosen by smaller groups of people resulting in decisions that respond to smaller and smaller constituencies. Get involved in the cause of voter education, voter registration, and the integrity of voting systems and materials. Restore participation at the polls. |
| 6. |
Work. Work is a key to economic opportunity. There are plenty of people in The East Bay – some younger, some older -- who need assistance getting into the workplace from high-tech training, life-skills education, union apprenticeships, on-the-job training by willing employers, and other programs. Get involved in a program that puts people onto steady career paths. |
| 7. |
Health. Few experiences are more debilitating for individuals and families than the loss of physical or mental health leading to incapacitation or death. The experience can arise from countless causes. Cancer. Heart disease. Obesity. Schizophrenia. HIV-AIDS. Drug and alcohol abuse. Depression. Alzheimer’s disease. A catastrophic accident. Support a cause fighting a health problem whose pain and suffering you have seen or felt. |
| 8. |
Livable Communities. Mind-numbing commutes. Skyrocketing housing prices. Blighted neighborhoods. Traffic and pollution. Even obesity and diabetes. All results of car-oriented cultures, junk-food paradises, and suburban sprawl. A movement – called "Livable Communities" or "Smart Growth" -- creates places where residents have access to a high quality of life – a good education, affordable housing, healthy food, recreational activities, and good jobs reasonably close to the workplace. Get involved so your neighborhood and your city become more sustainable places to live. |
| 9. |
Family Self-Sufficiency. Family Self-Sufficiency is a fulcrum between surviving and thriving. Tens of thousands of families in The East Bay are unable to earn enough to meet their basic needs. For them, access to services and opportunity is astonishingly limited. Family-support programs operated by government and by community-based organizations help immeasurably. Your involvement in just one of those programs can make a difference with one family. |
| 10. |
Values. We are all driven by values, though not necessarily values we share with everyone else in The East Bay. Whatever your value system, find a way to get closer to it, to spread it, to deepen it – and, for the sake of those who have values different from yours – to make it more tolerant. |
| Those who need information on volunteering at specific organizations can get a start at the following websites: |
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Volunteer Center of the East Bay
East Bay Volunteer Opportunities
Hands on Bay Area
Volunteer Match
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Volunteering makes a big difference. So does donating money.
The East Bay Community Foundation invites Bay Area residents to open a fund in their name to be directed to important community needs in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Charitable funds with the foundation can be started for as little as $10,000. It can provide a wonderful vehicle to create a legacy in your name and to our community. Funds at the Foundation provide significant tax benefits, and the end-of-the-year holiday season is a great time to get started. For more information please contact Giles Miller, Director of Development, at 510.208.0817, or at
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