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AEF Wins Community Service

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On November 5, 2020, Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft and the City of Alameda’s Social Service Human Relations Board honored this year’s recipients at the Seventh Annual Community Service Awards Ceremony. This year the awards honor individuals, businesses, and organizations that made noteworthy contributions to our community, particularly in advancing racial justice or responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

Alameda Education Foundation won the Non-Profit of the Year award and three AUSD students won Youth Service awards.

Responding to the Pandemic

AEF was awarded for responding to the unique challenges of the pandemic by:

  • Providing 2200 school supply kits and backpacks to needy children through their “Equipped for Success Reimagined” campaign
  • Distributing about 2000 headsets to students who may have background noise in their houses that makes it hard for them to participate in their Zoom classrooms
  • Purchasing 800 craft kits to keep students engaged during the pandemic
  • Funding AUSD’s contract with Care Solace, a service that links students and families with mental health supports

AEF supported AUSD teachers directly by purchasing “Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain” (Zoretta Hammond’s groundbreaking book on the way that trusting relationships between students and teachers help students access rigorous learning experiences). The non-profit also provided funding for mini grants to support the unique needs of teachers this year. Those mini grants were provided by a $50,000 donation from Bank of Marin.

The grants have funded about 40 teachers’ projects, including:

  • Oil and water color paints for art students at Encinal High School
  • Drum making kits for elementary students
  • Special apps and other tools for deaf and hard of hearing students
  • Sets of books about inclusiveness for school libraries
  • Yoga instruction for Wood Middle School students
  • Art supplies and curricula focusing on non-Eurocentric art
  • Music curricula to be shared with all elementary school

Since the pandemic began, AEF has also converted its summer camps to online programs that served about 400 students. This fall, the non-profit offered 24 enrichment programs that served about 250 students. And AEF is now collaborating with Rhythmix Cultural Works to provide a visual arts program including an artist profile and student art activity to complement each multi-cultural assembly performance for the 2020-21 school year.