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contra costa county
Opportunity Matters.
"This
was the biggest opportunity for me. OPTIC gave me self-confidence
and brought out the best in me. I'm able to pay the
bills ahead of time, have extra money in my pocket,
and do the things I couldn't afford.
It makes me want to strive more to do what I've always
wanted to do. I love people, and I can't see myself
at home anymore. I want to show that a person in a wheelchair
can live a normal life like anyone else."
- Janet Brown, single mother, former Social Security
Income recipient, and participant in the OPTIC program.
She is now employed full-time.
________________________
Opportunities for Technology Information Careers (OPTIC)
helps participants reach economic self-sufficiency by
addressing all of the barriers that stand between them
and career-track employment.
In partnership with
United Way of the Bay Area, OPTIC evaluates how well
their participants are doing by comparing their earnings
against both the
Self-Sufficiency Standard
and their actual expenses.
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Our
Grantees by County:
Alameda | Contra
Costa | Marin | Napa
| San Mateo | San
Francisco | Solano | Regional
| Download All |
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| Catholic Charities of the East Bay |
| Project Title: Even Start Family Literacy Program |
Type: Issue Grant |
| County: Contra Costa |
Grant Amount:
$55000 |
Start Date:
5/1/2004 |
End Date:
4/30/2006 |
| Grant Focus: Education |
| Project Description:
This grant will
support the Even Start Literacy Project located
at Verde Elementary School, which assists families in overcoming the
economic barriers they face due to their literacy
challenges. The Even Start Literacy Project
addresses the issue of intergenerational illiteracy
by simultaneously meeting the educational needs
of parents and their children. The program is
composed of four integrated components: 1) early
childhood education services for children ages
0-7; 2) adult education services including ESL,
adult native language literacy program, and
job search workshops; 3) parenting education;
and 4) structured Parent and Child Interactive
Literacy Activities. |
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| GLSEN - Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network SF-EB |
| Project Title: Respect and PRYDE Programs |
Type: Issue Grant |
| County: Contra Costa |
Grant Amount:
$25000 |
Start Date:
8/1/2005 |
End Date:
7/31/2006 |
| Grant Focus: Safe Communities\Violence prevention programs
for youth |
Project Description:
GLSEN SF-EB strives
to assure that each member of every school community
is valued and respected, regardless of sexual
orientation or gender identity/expression. Programs
are designed to reduce violence and harassment
motivated by homophobia and to assist schools
in their implementation of the California Student
Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 (AB
537). These
programs provide leadership in local school- and
district-wide AB537 implementation efforts through
professional development training for school personnel
and a pioneering peer education in the classroom. |
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www.glsen-sfeb.org/
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| Richmond Children's Foundation |
| Project Title: Richmond City and the Harlem Children
Zone |
Type: Capacity Building Grant |
| County: Contra Costa |
Grant Amount:
$15000 |
Start Date:
4/1/2005 |
End Date:
3/31/2006 |
| Grant Focus: Safe Communities\Capacity building &
leadership development for service providers |
| Project Description:
The cities of
Richmond and San Pablo are working with
a group of nonprofit agencies, the school districts,
the faith community, and Supervisor John Gioia
to assess the possibility to maximize their
resources by instituting a service 'wrap-around'
program. There is an immediate interest of these constituents
to look at programs that exists nationally that
link families and communities to the services
that exists through family resource centers,
neighborhood hubs, and local schools.
They have identified an opportunity to
learn more about an organization, Harlem Children''s
Zone, who has been successful in providing comprehensive
services and education to a community that eventually
changed the health, educational, and social
status of 24 city blocks of Harlem.The Harlem
Children''s Zone project is a successful model
in 'Building Stronger Communities to Support
Healthier Families.'
HCZ uses a 'local, multifaceted approach
to empower and provide support to parents, resident,
teachers, and other key neighborhood stakeholders
seeking to create positive opportunities for
their children.'
By including all pieces of a community;
school, church, merchants, teachers, parents,
children, and local government; HCZ has been
successful in increasing and changing the poor
community outcomes of children and their families
within a 24 block area of the Harlem Neighborhood.
HCZ has been so successful in changing
these outcomes that by 2009, it is their intent
to increase their coverage area to 91 blocks
of Harlem. |
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| Tides Center |
| Project Title: Verde Partnership Garden |
Type: Issue Grant |
| County: Contra Costa |
Grant Amount:
$65000 |
Start Date:
5/1/2004 |
End Date:
4/30/2006 |
| Grant Focus: Education |
| Project Description:
This grant will
be used to support The Verde Partnership Garden-
Garden Academic Integration Program, which is
designed to promote academic excellence at Verde
Elementary School, foster school/community connection,
and prevent youth violence through: (1) increasing
the relevancy and meaning of core academic study
through anchoring classroom learning in real-world
hands-on projects in the garden that are integrated
into grade level content standards; (2) strengthening
school relationships with the surrounding neighborhood
by engaging students in community learning projects
and then showcasing their work in the form of
presentations to the community as well as inviting
parents and community members to work in the
garden; and (3) promoting diversity and increasing
appreciation of the rich variety of cultures
in the community through the curriculum, 'Gardens
Across the World.' |
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| United Way of the Bay Area |
| Project Title: Parent Education Program - Raising A Reader |
Type: Issue Grant |
| County: Contra Costa |
Grant Amount:
$10000 |
Start Date:
5/1/2005 |
End Date:
4/30/2006 |
| Grant Focus: Education\Literacy programs in early childhood |
| Project Description:
As a part of
the Martinez Unified School District, Martinez Adult
Education has been offering Parent Education
courses since 1957 through their co-op preschool.
This project will allow Martinez Adult Education
to create and implement Raising A Reader.
Raising A Reader (RAR) is a pre-literacy
book bag program implemented through child care
centers. The purpose of RAR is to encourage
caregivers to lap read to young children daily
so that infants and toddlers develop important
reading skills and a love of reading. This project will establish the RAR program
with ELL (English-Language Learners) students
who have children or care for children 0-5 in
age. ELL
participants have taken classes in the Parent
Education Department, but this program will
bring about a first time collaboration between
the ELL Department and the Parent Education
Department.
The establishment of Raising A Reader
will expand efforts in providing educational
literacy programs.
Adults will be given educational materials,
which enforce the correlation of reading regularly
to a child, exploring exciting literature and
reading success. With the Raising A Reader program and adult
education, the program will help adults understand
that embracing books and reading to a child
can have a profound impact on how a child perceives
books and embraces learning and reading.
Educating adults surrounding literacy
and giving them tools to cultivate and enrich
the reading experiences will build a foundation
to benefit both the child and the adult. |
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| Volunteer & Emergency Services Team in Action |
| Project Title: Verde Involving Parents (VIP) |
Type: Issue Grant |
| County: Contra Costa |
Grant Amount:
$40000 |
Start Date:
5/1/2004 |
End Date:
4/30/2006 |
| Grant Focus: Safe Communities\Decreased Violence |
| Project Description:
This grant will
be used to support the VIP program, which is
a team effort of parents, teachers and county
agency and non-profit organization staff who
live and work in North Richmond and focus their
efforts on Verde Elementary School. The goal of the program is to get children
to school- every day, on time and ready to learn.
VIP has three primary program components. (1)
VIP's Family Partners- a neighbor-to-neighbor
outreach program to ensure that Verde students
attend school regularly. The Family Partners
offer peer support, encouragement, and resources
to families of students who are facing obstacles
to succeeding in school. (2) VIP's Student and
Family Peacemaking program- Students who act
out in class or on the playground are assigned
to the VIP Peacemaking Center. While at the Center,
students work with VIP's Peacemaking Coaches
on developing better conflict resolution, anger
management, and overall problem-solving skills.
Through the Peacemaking Program, all parents
and teachers at the school are trained in Second
Step, a nationally known violence prevention
curriculum. (3) VIP celebrations and awards-
VIP staff work with teachers and parents to
devise and reinforce clear and consistent school
policies and expectations, as well as a system
of rewards and recognition for celebrating student's
achievement and progress. |
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| Youth Enrichment Strategies |
| Project Title: Camp/School Family Conflict Resolution Project |
Type: Issue Grant |
| County: Contra Costa |
Grant Amount:
$40000 |
Start Date:
5/1/2004 |
End Date:
4/30/2006 |
| Grant Focus: Safe Communities\Decreased Violence |
| Project Description:
This grant will
be used to support both the continuation of
Youth Enrichment Strategies' summer camp program
and the development of two new components, the
Leadership Program and the Family Camp Retreat.
Specifically, these funds will be used to integrate
a conflict resolution component (via the second
step curriculum) into the existing summer camp
program that serves 50 students at Verde Elementary School. Students, who could not otherwise enroll
in camp, attend a YMCA in Northern CA for 1 week, gaining
exposure to traditional camp values, nature,
and positive role models. The Leadership Program,
a new after school program at Verde, will reinforce
and strengthen the conflict resolution skills
acquired during the summer camp program throughout
the school year. The Family Camp Retreat will
enable fifty families to attend Camp Loma Mar for an extended
weekend to focus on conflict resolution skills
and family relationships. |
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