Join us for the First 5 Gala!
First 5 Alameda County is thrilled to announce our first Gala event on April 27, 2017 at the Fairmont Claremont Hotel. Join us in celebrating the families, providers and communities that help children thrive.
The inaugural event will be emceed by five-time Emmy award-winning weather anchor, Roberta Gonzales.
For sponsorship inquiries, please contact Helen Mendel at hmendel@aol.com or (510) 506-1874.
For all other event inquiries, please contact Mary Saelee at mary.saelee@first5alameda.org or (510) 227-6987.
Visit our Event Page to reserve your seat today!
We hope to see you there!
First 5 Alameda County Commission Adopts New FY 2017-2021 Strategic Plan!
Since we were founded, First 5 Alameda County has seen the evolution from a start-up to a major early childhood voice in the community. The original intent of the Prop 10 legislation, which makes up the majority of our funding, was to establish, expand and evaluate early childhood initiatives to secure long term sustainability. As our Prop 10 funding declines, we're focusing on being a catalyst, collaborator and capacity builder in the early childhood community and shifting away from direct service provision. These new roles will allow us to build a stronger and more sustainable early childhood system in Alameda County for the long term.
First 5 Alameda County staff, community and systems partners, local stakeholders and our Commission have been using Results Based Accountability to prioritize our funding, and determine what we want to see as a result of First 5 investments in the next four years.
As public understanding and support around early childhood has increased in the last decade, the field is expanding to focus on two generation approaches and the need to support families around workforce, financial resources, housing stability and equity issues. If we are to have a lasting impact on young children, we need healthy communities where families are connected to the resources they need to thrive.
Read more about our mission, vision and new strategies in our FY 2017-2021 Strategic Plan and let us know if you have any questions!
First 5 Hosts Popular Immigration Forum
Immigration policies that separate families destabilize young children and threaten their safety, development and health. With the new unpredictable policies coming from Washington, fear of deportation has rippled through our communities. In response to the anxiety gripping the county, First 5 Alameda County hosted an Immigration Forum on January 31st.
First 5 presented current immigration policies to help providers parse fact from fiction, and provided a suite of legal resources for those working with immigrant families. With experts from Centro Legal de la Raza, East Bay Community Law Center and International Institute of the Bay Area, the unprecedented turnout made it clear that we need more opportunities to come together around this urgent issue. We’re currently working on a "Know Your Rights" training and a "Family Emergency Plan for Immigrant Families" training, but we encourage our partners to let us know how we can be of service to the community during these uncertain times.
At First 5 Alameda County, we stand with our families in this moment of crisis. Over half of Alameda County’s children live in a home where at least one parent is an immigrant. As champions for young children, we wholeheartedly refute policies that separate families and will work with our partners to keep our communities secure.
Check out the materials we shared at the Immigration Forum.
For up to date news on immigration policy, please visit “What’s New at ILRC”.
