“Seeking to raise the economic, educational, and social levels of the community with dignity”
Please review some of our past articles and communications. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 20, 2011 Contact: Mark
Baldwin, 510.967.1255, Dcdcexec@yahoo.com HELPING HUNGRY, HOMELESS,
SENIORS AND AT-RISK YOUTH IN OAKLAND DCDC Hosts Silent/Live Auction & Soiree fundraiser OAKLAND, CA -- What if you could change
the world by shopping for amazing bargains, grooving to the Bay Area’s ultimate
café band, and sampling some of the best food and wine around? You can do that and help Downs Community Development
Corporation (DCDC) raise funds to feed the hungry and homeless, house low
income seniors, and educate at-risk youth.
You can make a profound difference in the lives of these people right
here in Oakland, right now! Party and
celebrate with us as we raise critically needed funds to support our community
feeding program, senior housing complex and cultural enrichment summer school
program. DCDC’s second
“Spring into Summer” Silent/Live Auction and Soiree combines the excitement of
bidding for amazing items, with moving to the rhythms and infectious licks of
ThirdWire, while they wow the crowd with funk, rock, samba and swing! Marvel at the awesome views of San Francisco
Bay from your perch at Merritt College’s Newton/Seale Hall. Bid, dance, wine and dine and learn how DCDC
has made a profound impact in its corner of the world in North Oakland. Join us on June 4th from 6:30 –
9:30 p.m. at Merritt College, 12500 Campus Drive in Oakland. Auction items
include a week in Cancun, Mexico with a round-trick airline --more— ticket; a weekend at any
participating Omni Hotel; sculpture by Oakland master Mario Chiodo; painting and musical CD by Michael Henderson;
Joe Montana and Jerry Rice memorabilia; billboard advertising space; gift certificates, jewelry, outdoor
adventures, iPods and much, much more.
See DCDC’s website at www.downscdc.org
for a complete list of auction items. Tickets
can also be purchased online. Event
sponsors include ClearChannel OUTDOOR and Christian Church Homes of Northern California. Downs Community
Development Corporation is a nonprofit community development organization that
serves the social, educational and economic needs of low income residents of
North Oakland. In addition to a Fishes
and Loaves community feeding program that provides over 39,000 meals annually,
DCDC operates a 17-unit senior housing complex, provides employment and job
training referrals, coordinates a clothes pantry, and works to improve the
academic achievement of children and youth.
For more information, contact Mark Baldwin, Executive Director at
510.967.1255. --##--
As we continue to explore the relationship between Downs Memorial UMC and DCDC, we thought it might be interesting to meet one of the Bishop Nichols Housing tenants.
Meet Charles Monday, a straight forward and honest man.
Charles Monday, unit 108, has been a Bishop Nichol’s tenant since 2004. He is proud that he was the first ever to live in his apartment. Charles confidently states he was born in 1934 in Louisiana. He also spent a good deal of time in Mississippi. Mr. Monday said “In 1967, I had a few friends that were in Los Angeles and they said they liked it so I thought I would give it a shot.” Later he moved to West Oakland where he worked as a building manager.
Although he is aware of the programs available here at Downs, he does not participate. Charles is a “loyal” member of his church. He likes his church. He attends church at Greater St. Paul church on Martin Luther King Jr. way. He admits that he likes voting at Downs. Charles has a car and uses his parking space in the Bishop Nichols parking lot. That said, he is a bike ride and can be seen riding through the neighborhood. He also walks every now and then.
Charles remembers when he first walked through his unit. He recalls that the refrigerator had two doors and he really got a kick out of that. He also was excited about the amount of space the unit had. For this time in his life, this was the perfect size for him.
I asked Mr. Monday if he could share any concerns. While he did share some concerns, he was quick to say he did not want me to get the impression that he was not happy. Having worked in property management, he knows firsthand the types of issues that can come up. He has talked to management about his concerns and knows the resource limitations that exist. Equal to his list of concerns are kudos to management for taking care of issues.
After thanking Mr. Monday for his time, he repeated that while he has some concerns, he says “I really like living there.” I told him that, just as he told me when we started our conversation, he is a very straightforward and honest man and he could not be any different even if he wanted to.