Blog entry by Jonathan Darr, Pe....
Last updated at Tue, 22 Feb at 7:19am.

People's Grocery has 400 people joining us for our Harvesting Justice fundraising brunch at UC Berkeley on Sunday 2/27.  We've had an incredible response!  To manage an event of this size, we're hoping to enlist new and returning volunteers to help us.  If you are interested, please contact jonathan@peoplesgrocery.org. 

We are looking for:

Article by Jennifer Inez Ward.
Last updated at Wed, 19 Jan at 11:15pm.

On a warm Saturday morning, about 100 volunteers joined Oakland Mayor Jean Quan in East Oakland to undertake a block by block clean up of the neighborhoods around 85th and 98th Avenue.

Blog entry by Susan Mernit.
Last updated at Wed, 19 Jan at 7:20am.

In honor of Martin Luther King,Jr. some residents of the Adam's Point neighborhood did a trash pickup at Lakeview School and around their streets and along Lake Merritt.

Article by Jennifer Inez Ward.
Last updated at Thu, 13 Jan at 8:22am.

Mayor Jean Quan is bringing her organizing skills to City Hall.

The mayor has issued a city-wide call for residents to volunteer in their communities and she is working with local organizations and regional agencies to get Oaklanders to donate free time toward improving the city.

Article by Airial Clark.
Last updated at Thu, 6 Jan at 3:44pm.

On Nov. 6, Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth, or MISSSEY, held its first event at the Layover Lounge in order to raise funds to send a young group of survivors to Peru as part of the Advocacy delegation on Human Trafficking in June.

Nola Brantley, the executive director of MISSSEY, spoke with Oakland Local about the success of their first fundraising event.

Article by Irene.
Last updated at Mon, 27 Dec at 8:31am.

It’s no coincidence that the largest room at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul building is the dining room. In an organization where 1,000 meals are served a day, the poor are no longer just being fed, they are also learning to cook and become great chefs.

Four times a year the Society - or SVdP - on 23rd Avenue accepts 20 standout individuals dealing with various levels of distress into its culinary academy and job placement program. Twelve weeks, 400 instruction hours and 30 tests later, the Kitchen of Champions Culinary Academy graduates “lean, mean cooking machines.”

The class of December 2010 is no different.

Article by Rachel Zurer.
Last updated at Fri, 5 Nov at 7:39am.

Moving is hard; moving with animals is harder.

Craigslist lets you search for dog- and cat-friendly rentals, but what about squirrels, raccoons, fawns and opossums? That’s a feature Lila Travis, founder and director of the Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue Center, could use right now.

Blog entry by Community Rejuven....
Last updated at Tue, 24 Aug at 10:14am.

The Mural Site Coordinator is one of the most important ways to support the development of our up and coming program, the Community Rejuvenation Project. 

Blog entry by Oakland Local edi....
Last updated at Mon, 12 Jul at 6:26am.

Habitat for Humanity East Bay invites community members in Alameda and Contra Costa counties to don a hard hat and swing a hammer to help build homes with Bay Area limited-income families.

Article by Oakland Local edi....
Last updated at Sat, 1 May at 8:55pm.

Oakland residents have the chance to spend Saturday making the city cleaner, greener and more livable.

Article by Meg Bertoni.
Last updated at Tue, 27 Apr at 12:05am.

For those who are handy with a hammer, or even those who aren't, Rebuilding Together Oakland could use help with home repairs on its April 10, 11, 17 and 18 workdays.

Blog entry by Susan Mernit.
Last updated at Sat, 24 Apr at 1:34pm.

Oakland Local is 3 months old and we need some help!

Article by Alan Lopez.
Last updated at Wed, 7 Apr at 9:11pm.

Volunteers will tidy up Grand Avenue on Sunday Apr. 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The clean-up is one of many organized by the Grand Lake Improvement and Beautification Committee.

Blog entry by Emilie Raguso.
Last updated at Tue, 16 Feb at 12:53pm.

Vice Mayor Jean Quan is looking for your help to find this year's "Local Heroes," volunteers who've devoted themselves to projects ranging from recycling and beautification efforts to running a bike shop as an alternative to violence and bringing the love of bugs to kids.

Blog entry by Emilie Raguso.
Last updated at Thu, 11 Feb at 7:51am.

An East Oakland co-op that's working to transform a formerly empty lot into a thriving green space has put out the call for some Valentine's Day assistance. Volunteers will get to share in a locally-sourced organic meal, as well as "skills, starts and stories."

Blog entry by Susan Mernit.
Last updated at Tue, 19 Jan at 11:12am.

Sean Sullivan, who once ran for Oakland City Council, is one of the leaders of a movement to block the reappointment of Lorenzo Hoopes as a member of the Paramount Theater Board of Directors.

"I think it's outrageous that we would appoint anyone who calls for discrimination and works hard to see discrimination written into California's constitution representing all of Oakland on the Paramount board," said Sullivan, a West Oakland resident and a founding board member of Oakland's Rainbow Chamber of Commerce.

Hoopes was the leader of Oakland's "Yes on Prop 8" effort. He also was Oakland's largest donor and fundraiser to this discriminatory proposition. It is unfortunate that Hoopes' nomination is moving forward as the Prop 8 trial is happening across the bay in San Francisco.

Tonight: Tell City Council what you think! Sullivan is asking Oaklanders to attend the Jan 19 Oakland City Council to ask that Council only approve board members who don't discriminate against any of our citizens. (Sullivan's Facebook event listing says the meeting is 7 pm, but the City Council web site says 6 pm.)

To follow this issue, join Sullivan's Facebook group: The Paramount -- No Place for Homophobia.

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