Who we are
Opportunity Junction is an Antioch-based nonprofit that fights poverty by helping low-income adults gain the skills and confidence to support themselves and their families. During the past year, more than 800 East Contra Costa residents participated in one or more of our programs: our Job Training and Placement Program that prepares participants for administrative careers through a combination of computer training, life skills, paid experience, career counseling, support services and long-term follow-up; our evening Technology Center that targets working adults with instruction in Computer Basics and English as a Second Language, as well as access to computers and the Internet; and our Do-It-Yourself Tax Assistance program that teaches low-income taxpayers to prepare and file their Federal and California tax returns using the I-CAN eFile web interface. All programs are offered at no charge to participants and are designed to help families along on the road to self-sufficiency.

Who we serve
Opportunity Junction serves the historically underserved communities of East Central and Eastern Contra Costa County. Within this area, our Job Training and Placement Program targets individuals who are considered “hard-to-serve”: those who are low-income and confront one or more barriers to employment, such as domestic violence, substance abuse, a criminal record, past job instability or limited out of home work experience. Job training participants are primarily women and reflect the diversity of those living in poverty in Contra Costa County. The average participant is responsible for two school-age dependents.

The Technology Center has a complementary focus, targeting the working poor of East County by providing drop-in, easy-access, modular learning and access opportunities designed to accommodate existing work schedules and family obligations. The Do-It-Yourself Tax Assistance program overlaps both of these populations, offering services to families earning less than $52,000 per year.

Johnnetta Gay: “Opportunity Junction offered me a new chance at life.”
Johnnetta Gay has been in her dream job working with pregnant teens and women in the Black Infant Health Program with Brighter Beginnings for almost two years. But her journey to self-sufficiency has not been easy. A teen mother at 17, Johnnetta struggled to stay in school while raising her son and taking care of her ill mother. She graduated from high school and started college courses shortly before her mother passed away.

“Without my mother’s support, I felt lost and alone,” Johnnetta shares. “Not only did I lose my mother, but my son, DeRon, missed the grandmother who helped raise him.” Unable to cope, she dropped out of school and out of her life. She survived by supporting herself and her family on welfare. But she had dreams of supporting her family on her own while also working to make a difference. She was able to find a position with a three-year pilot program working with pregnant teens and women.

Shortly after beginning the position, Johnnetta knew she had found her calling in life. When that position ended, she found herself lost again. She struggled through various positions to support her three children, DeRon, Ebony and Elijah, but never experienced the same joy she had while helping pregnant women. She lost confidence and began to think that she didn’t deserve anything better than working meaningless jobs that took her away from her family for limited pay.

That is when she stumbled across Opportunity Junction. Johnnetta immediately loved the personal feel and attention of the small classes and quickly blossomed. “I was able to take on a leadership role in her class,” Johnnetta remembers, “and feel like I was helping people again. Life Skills gave me a chance to open up and get my confidence back.” The internship empowered her to make decisions and share her opinions; she was ready for the next step. Shortly into her internship, Johnnetta found the perfect position. Brighter Beginnings was looking for a Family Advocate to work with pregnant African American women in their Antioch office. She had the experience from a previous position, but now she also had the confidence and the skills to get that position.

“Opportunity Junction gave me the confidence to know I could get my dream job — to pick a goal and go for it,” Johnnetta says. “I love my position, but what I really love is being able to refer new people to Opportunity Junction to share in a wonderful experience.”

How you can help
Opportunity Junction relies on the efforts of volunteers and the generosity of donors. We are always seeking computer, math, and English tutors, individuals or groups to staff special events like Graduation, and professionals who can help participants with resume development and interviewing skills — you can sign up at http://www.opportunityjunction.org/su_volunteer.html. Donations — which may be made online at http://www.opportunityjunction.org — are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law, because we are a charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code (tax I.D. 68-0459131). In addition, employers can sign up as Hiring Partners to share job postings with us, and all supporters can hire our job training interns as temporary staff or for outsourced administrative projects like data entry and web research.

Visit the Opportunity Junction Website

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Who we are
We are the nations leading network of camps specifically designed to meet the unique needs of Foster Children. We have 140 camps operating in America, put on by local Faith based churches. Last summer we had over 6,000 campers and almost 7,000 adult volunteers go to camp for one week. These camps are not “church camps for church kids” they are “community camps for community kids”. We are able to share common Bible stories that inspire these kids to overcome the challenges they face and we are able to build spiritual growth through our actions of love and care.

Who we serve
We serve children in the community who have been abused, abandoned and neglected. The majority of the children who attend RFKC come directly from a local Social Services Agency. These “Foster Children” are the children in our communities who are often left out of summer camp opportunities. Our camps our designed to meet the specific needs of children who are “in the system”. We do that by having one trained adult camp counselor for every 2 campers, by having camp Grandparents, by having a Birthday party celebration for every camper, a camp Nurse to take care of their medications and medical needs and a camp photographer to give them pictures of themselves having fun all week. All of these things are designed to put back critical elements of their lives that have been missing, especially, healthy time with a caring adult.

Anyone Who Would Listen
While working at a convention for RFKC, a woman came up to us and told this story. She said she had been in an abusive relationship and finally left and was living in a Hotel / Shelter for abused women with her 2 daughters. Her daughters were confused and distraught over the abuse, leaving home and then living in the shelter. A local church was helping the women there so she and her daughters started attending that church. When she explained the trauma her oldest daughter was dealing with one of the workers invited her to the RFKC that the church was operating. Upon returning from the camp her daughter was so excited about all that she had done she told her mother all about it. Since then, whenever anybody comes over she will pull out her photo album from camp, and enthusiastically tell “anyone who would listen” all about each photo and what a great time she had that week. This mother stood there and told us that her daughter still says “that was the best week of my life”. That’s what we’re trying to do, take the children from troubled times and give them the best week of their lives!

How you can help
On our website you can find ways to donate online or sign up for our newsletter. You can also find out about participating in our birthday box program or even about starting a camp or finding a local camp near you to get involved with. Royal Family Kids’ Camps, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity. Donations and gifts are tax-deductible, as allowed by law. Royal Family Kids’ Camps, Inc.’s Federal Taxpayer I.D. Number is 33-0380021.

Visit Our Website

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Who We Are
Since 1965, the Bay Area Rescue Mission has been caring for the homeless and impoverished of the Bay Area through emergency shelter, meals, recovery programs, spiritual counseling, education, job skills training, transitional services, youth intervention, food pantry, resource distribution, and mobile outreach.

Who We Serve
Homelessness is a growing problem in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the nine counties that make up the Bay Area, more than 200,000 people are homeless at some point throughout the year, according to HomeBase, the San Francisco-based regional policy center on homeless issues. More than 71,000 are homeless at any one time. The most rapidly-growing segment of the homeless population is single women, women with children and families. In fact, families represent 50% of the homeless in the Bay Area. Among these family units, 67% are women with young children.

Those challenged by a lack of education or language proficiency find the opportunities for employment vastly limited. Nearly half of the concentrated poverty neighborhoods in the Bay Area are in the East Bay. This means over 150,000 extremely low-income people reside in 11 cities in Alameda County and 20 in Contra Costa County.

Eula’s Story
My name is Eula. I was born and raised in Mississippi, and I raised all four of my children there. One of my daughters, however, married an abusive man who often beat her in front of their three children.

One day, he beat her real bad. She stumbled inside my home, blood flowing everywhere. My grandsons, who were just 7 and 5 years old at the time, had seen it all.

After that, the judge awarded me custody of my three grandchildren. I was so sick of everything that was happening, in 2006 we moved to Richmond, California, where one of my sisters lives.

When I arrived, my sister told me about the Bay Area Rescue Mission, which offered us a room and the chance to join their Transitional Living Program. When I moved into our room, I was completely broke down. Physically, I had back problems, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. My self-esteem was gone and my spirit was broken.

But I had two boys and an 18-month-old granddaughter to raise. The Bay Area Rescue Mission brought stability to the children and me. The program offered me the counseling and spiritual guidance I needed. The spiritual guidance was especially important.

The Bible had always been a source of comfort for me. I had grown up knowing the Lord. So this was a great place for me. We stayed at the Bay Area Rescue Mission for a year and a half, giving

How you can help
We’ve all heard it or said it before, “I couldn’t have done it without you.” Those words of gratitude have never been truer than when expressed by the staff of the Bay Area Rescue Mission to our donors and supporters!

Donations — which may be made online at www.BayAreaRescue.org – are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law, because we are a charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code.

The Bay Area Rescue Mission also strives to involve community volunteers with the Mission’s work in ways that support and strengthen the staff, enhance our client services and offer a positive and life-changing experience to our volunteers. To find out more information about volunteering at the Mission, visit our website at www.BayAreaRescue.org/volunteer.html.

By joining the thousands of volunteers who assist in the Bay Area Rescue Mission’s ministry to the poor and homeless each year, you can use your unique talents and abilities to change the hearts and lives of those who turn to us for help. Whether you are an individual or group, student or senior, church or corporation, we have a place for you!

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