Hope For Children Now Raffle Tickets

Support Faith Network

and get a chance to win a dream vacation!

(Drawing will be held at the June 4 Gala. Need not be present to win.)

Grand Prize:

3-night stay at all-inclusive resort in Cabos San Lucas

plus a $500 Alaskan Airlines gift card.

Runner Up Prizes:

Pebble Beach Vacation Home
3-night stay for up to 6 guests at a vacation home just off 17-Mile Drive

Yountville Casita in Napa
2-night stay for 2 at a private Yountville Casita
PLUS dinner for 2 at the award-winning FARM at the Carneros Inn

Hornblower Cruise

Brunch or dinner for 4 people

Raffle Tickets Prices

$10 for 1 ticket

$25 for 3 tickets

$50 for 7 tickets

For more details on raffle prizes and restrictions, please visit
www.faith-network.com/raffle.

To purchase tickets, call our office at (510) 836-5100 or mail in the order form.

Future Scientists go to BLAZES

Ruby Bridges Elementary fifth-graders recently journeyed to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to conduct science experiments in conjunction with the lab’s Berkeley Lab Adventure Zone in Elementary Science (BLAZES) program. Each student, wearing a white lab coat, participated in hands-on activities titled Finding Elements on the Periodic Table, What Conducts Electricity and When Do Substances Change from One State of Matter to Another.

Students were attentive and engaged as they first hypothesized and then tested various materials to see which objects conduct electricity, what happens when a small piece of dry ice is dropped into a flask with 150 ml of water, what happens when a balloon is immersed in liquid nitrogen, and which metal conducts heat the fastest. They were not shy about asking questions and interacting with Berkeley Lab engineers and scientists. Truly these at-promise students are our hope for the future! And it was great to see fifth-grade teacher Heather Figueroa flanked by inquisitive parent chaperones.

Faith Network is honored to be one of Berkeley Lab’s community partners, offering visits to the lab to 16 Oakland classes, plus bus transportation!

The mission of Berkeley Lab includes inspiring and preparing the next generation of scientists, engineers and technicians.

President's Corner: Kerry Gough

I’m happy to announce that Kerry Gough has joined Faith Network’s Board of Directors. A retired civil rights attorney, Kerry’s interest in civil rights began when, as a young soldier, he blew the whistle on the Army’s collaboration with racist Monterey Peninsula landlords who refused to rent to African American armed forces personnel. That experience sparked his passion for civil rights, which led to a summer as a civil rights worker in Mississippi in 1965, employment by the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division on assignment to southeastern Mississippi, and 42 years as a civil rights attorney in Oakland.

Upon his retirement on April 15, 2008, Kerry joined forces with Global Strategies for HIV Prevention, and less than a month later, went to Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo for a two-week exploration into how victims of sexual assault could be assisted legally. This led to a six-week stint in Goma the following year and eventually to the establishment of some legal clinics staffed by third-year Congolese law students supervised by Congolese attorneys.
Kerry received his Juris Doctorate degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, U.C. Berkeley, in 1966. His community service background includes a stint on the Global Strategies Board of Directors; President of the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County; President of Allied Fellowship Service, a half-way house for ex-offenders; and advisory board member for Project Sentinel, a nonprofit that investigates, mediates and litigates housing discrimination cases.

Welcome aboard, Kerry Gough!

For the children,
Randy

Volunteer Spotlight: Dennis Burke

A remarkable thing called connection happens when you find a way to combine
your talents with volunteering! This is what Dennis Burke discovered when he
began volunteering through Faith Network.

After he retired from the world of business and finance, Dennis wanted to find a way to contribute to his community. So in 2012 Dennis emailed Faith Network president Randy Roth about his desire to help kids with their math skills. At this time, Faith Network didn't have a math tutoring program. But one thing led to the next and, within weeks, Dennis was paired with two students who were struggling with math.

Four years later, Dennis is still giving to the community through Faith Network’s two-year-old math tutoring program established under Science Horizons. Every week this school year at Burkhalter Elementary, Dennis goes over division, multiplication, decimals, and word problems with Aaron and Amaia. But his favorite moments are when they all feel comfortable enough to open up to each other and share what’s going on in each other’s lives.

As Dennis sees it, “For me, math has always been one of my great loves. It seems to be a point where I can connect with kids, not just about math, but through listening and encouraging.”

Hope for Children Now Benefit Gala

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

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Can't attend the Gala but want to make a difference? Contribute

to our $100,000 fundraising goal by clicking here.

President's Corner: The Genesis of Faith Network

In 1988 the Roth family arrived in Oakland where I was called to serve as pastor of First Covenant Church, and soon we started a weekly gathering to pray for the Shalom of Oakland. A growing number of people from several congregations were coming together to pray for the peace, prosperity, health and wholeness of the city we were called to serve. Several years later, retired Oakland teacher Mary Shaw recruited me and other First Covenant members to serve as Oakland Readers.

In 2000 Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Dennis Chaconis invited clergy to Mills College where he gave us a State of the Schools report and concluded with a bold and surprising challenge: “We need you and your congregations to adopt a neighborhood school!” Little did he or I know that a seed was planted that day that would grow into Faith Network, officially launched as a public benefit nonprofit in July of 2001.

Two days after the horrific 9/11 terrorist attack – Board Chair Jon Blankmeyer and I were introduced to Burbank Elementary Principal Roberta Teller by former Burbank teacher, Norman Brooks. Ms. Teller greeted us with warm hugs, saying “I want my school to be a safe place,”and then began sharing her “Volunteer Wish List.”

By mid-October, volunteers from four nearby churches were serving as tutors, playground lunch buddies, teacher appreciation hosts, library helpers and ESL class leaders. Burbank became a template for future school partnerships.
Fastforward 15 years: Today over 300 volunteers, 20 congregations and 38 community partners offer an array of services to 36 schools that address the public education crisis close to home here in Oakland and the East Bay.

To help Faith Network stay strong we need your help. The education crisis will not go away any time soon. That’s why we need to be here today and tomorrow for our most vulnerable at-promise children. Your monthly, annual and multi-year financial support will ensure Faith Network can go deeper and wider, so that Hope for Children Now will continue spreading throughout Oakland, the East Bay and beyond.

For the children,
Randy

President's Appeal

Will you be an Ambassador of Hope?

Faith Network relies on contributions from supporters like YOU so we can

• offer one-on-one tutoring support to struggling second-grade readers;
• introduce inner city kids to the world of Science Technology Engineering and Math;
• provide low-income high schoolers with a workplace internship under the guidance of a personal mentor;
• follow students forward toward high school graduation and higher education. 

If you can contribute monthly, become an Ambassador of Hope today!

Click on this Donate link and under Donation Frequency, select Monthly. You can also call our office at (510) 836-5100.

Your monthly investment will allow Faith Network to recruit and support more of our most important resource: volunteers. Our caring volunteers give undivided, personal attention to an individual student – week after week throughout the school year. One tutor, one child, infinite possibilities. Help us make a difference!

For the children,
Randy