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Hope for Children Now – YOU Stepped Up In a Big Way!

By Jim Wambach
May 30, 2020

Your unwavering support will nurture and equip vulnerable children to rise above!

On behalf of Children Rising, I want to thank you for supporting Hope for Children Now 2020. You stepped up in a big way, and we are both humble and grateful for your response.

You gifts ensure that every struggling child is reached by a caring community at a critical time in their life to nurture hope, the courage to dream, and the opportunity to thrive. Thank you!

I remember the first gala planning we held just a day after the COVID-19 shelter in place orders were announced here in the Bay Area. With little time to spare, we made the immediate decision to pivot from our traditional gala to a series of “virtual” events that would culminate in our LIVE online gala.

Although at times it felt like we were “building the airplane while flying it”, we never doubted that you would come through like never before. You didn’t waiver!

Through our first ever Virtual 5K, Online Auction, and Facebook Live event, we are grateful to announce that you helped us raise $110,000 to date! We are overwhelmed by your generosity during these uncertain times. Thank you.

Over 30 of you ran, walked, cycled where you were and raised $11,000 in our H4CN Virtual 5K!

While we can celebrate reaching our goals, let’s not forget that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a far-reaching impact on all of us. As you know, it has led to a catastrophic disruption to normal routines of life for many of the children, youth, and families in our programs. It has further widened the achievement gap that already existed in our own community. And it has brought into very clear focus the digital divide that remains an impediment to so many students in our community.

Your gift will provide the support needed to adapt our programs and continue to deliver one-on-one literacy and math intervention, mentoring, and nourishment our children so desperately need.

Together, we will continue to nurture and equip vulnerable children and youth to rise above the challenges created by generations of poverty, violence, and educational inequity.

With gratitude,

Jim

PS: If you missed it, you can check out Hope for Children Now LIVE and hear inspiring stories from our students, tutors, teachers, and a special message from Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.

YES, I CAN nourish and sustain a vulnerable child TODAY.

 I want to learn more about reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

 I want help fund Children Rising to empower many more children when they return to the classroom!

Virtual 5K Update: We Did It Together!

By Sophia Wambach
May 14, 2020

Dear Children Rising community,

I’m so thankful to all of you. Because of you and your efforts, we not only reached our fundraising goal of $10,000, we exceeded it by over $1000! As our first virtual 5k event ever, we weren’t sure how it would turn out, but we knew our community would show up and you did.

Here are the awardees of our Hope for Children Now Virtual 5K:

• Most Dollars – Bekah Wilson who raised $1,100!
• Most Donors – Reto Peter who had 15 donors!
• Fastest Time/Rate (min/mi) – Bob Dailey who averaged 7:51 minutes per mile!
• Greatest Elevation Gain – Jen and Sam Roth who hiked an elevation gain of 456 feet with their family!
• Most Creative Route – Mark Perra who took a 22.2-mile bike ride on Mt. Diablo with an elevation gain of 4380 feet!
• Best Photo – Kevin and Becca Hu whose 5K actually included two small kiddos on bikes and fellow 5K participant Suresh Barre!

The winning photo! Kevin and Becca Hu whose 5K actually included two small kiddos on bikes and fellow 5K participant Suresh Barre!

To see more of the awesome photos our participants took to commemorate their run/walk/ride, visit our Facebook Virtual 5K Event Page.

Even though the virtual 5K is over, you can still check out our other 2 Hope for Children Now events. You have now until May 16 to bid on items in our Silent Auction and Fund-a-Need. And our Hope for Children Now LIVE will be this Saturday, May 16 from 7-8 pm. If you have Facebook, you can RSVP here, but you can still watch here without a Facebook account.

Again, everyone, thank you so much for making this first ever Hope for Children Now Virtual 5K a success! You made all the difference.

For the children,

Pearl

YES, I CAN provide Hope for Children Now!

 I want to learn more about reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

 I want help fund Children Rising to empower many more children when they return to the classroom!

Celebrate #GivingTuesdayNow

By Jim Wambach
May 5, 2020

Unleashing the power of people to transform their communities

Dear Friends,

On this special edition of Giving Tuesday, we celebrate all of you who are helping your neighbors, your community, and the most vulnerable in our society.

The COVID-19 pandemic has spared no one. It’s far-reaching impact has created unprecedented challenges and hardships. But despite the uncertainty and anxiety we all may feel, one thing has been truly inspiring: How the entire East Bay community has come together to provide for and nourish those most vulnerable.

The nonprofit world has banded together to create a very special #GivingTuesdayNow to “unleash the power of people to transform their communities.”

We have chosen to use this special edition of Giving Tuesday to celebrate everyone who is already leaning into the crisis. Our sincere thanks pours out to all of you who are helping your neighbors, your community, and the most vulnerable in our society.

Let’s all set aside a few minutes to reflect on how we can continue to help in the coming weeks and months.

You helped us respond immediately to the COVID-19 crisis, helping us to reconnect our students with the tutors they have come to know and love. That is the power of giving back to your community!

Many families in our community are being severely challenged and need your help in different ways.

For them, sheltering in place is far different than what we may be experiencing. Many of these families are now completely without income, and will not receive any government financial assistance. They are struggling just to put food on the table and make rent. For them, it’s all about short term survival.

As a community, we must all band together and help these families through a short-term survival and then through the long term recovery. So this Giving Tuesday, we hope you take a moment, if you haven’t already done so, to explore how best you can help.

We would like to invite you to our Hope for Children Now LIVE event. Learn how the Children Rising community is nourishing and empowering vulnerable children and youth who are going to come back to school in the fall even further behind.

We have a wonderful program scheduled that you will not want to miss. We’ll hear inspiring stories from students, teachers, and tutors; a special message from Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf; and a silent auction featuring amazing vacations and other fun items to bid on.

You can nourish and sustain a family in our community today. We hope you can join us for our Hope for Children Now LIVE online event on May 16th at 7:00 PM. Mark your calendar!

For the children,

Jim

YES, I CAN nourish and sustain a vulnerable child TODAY.

 I want to learn more about reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

 I want help fund Children Rising to empower many more children when they return to the classroom!

Happy National Teacher Appreciation Month!

By Sophia Wambach
May 1, 2020

Nominate your favorite teacher to be highlighted by GO Public Schools

We want to applaud the hard work of our educators – they have stepped up to create distance learning environment on the fly.

It’s the first of May! It’s a bright, lovely day in the East Bay. And we’re kicking off National Teacher Appreciation Month by celebrating School Principals’ Day.

In this period of social distancing and school closures, we want to applaud the hard work of our educators. We are all dealing with disruptions to business as usual, but it was particularly difficult for our schools. Our educators immediately rose to the challenge of pivoting on the fly to provide distance learning, which is a significant adjustment. They have done a phenomenal job of keeping children and families engaged and connected. They are working especially hard to accomodate families with little access to the technology that makes distance learning more efficient and effective. And they have helped our Path2Math and Succeeding by Reading tutors stay connected with the students they have come to know and love.

Together as a school community – teachers, principals, administration, parents, and volunteers – our mission is to provide for our children academically and emotionally. That is true now more than ever. We are so proud of how they have all come together for the children.

Teachers form a bond with students, helping them academically and emotionally.

We hope you will take a moment to appreciate and thank all of our educators for their dedication and hard work throughout the year, including our Path2Math and Succeeding by Reading team of tutors. Their heart and passion for the children shine through.

You can take it a step further by nominating a teacher you think is going above and beyond in support of our students. Each nominated teacher will receive a gift from GO Oakland and a feature on GO Oakland social media channels May 4th through May 8th.

I know a teacher that has gone above and beyond.

 I want to nominate a teacher today!