A message from our Executive Director

Dear Friends,

When you support Alternatives in Action, you create an opportunity for positive growth in the youth who journey through our programs. I get to see this growth every day and I want to share what I see with you.

Whether at our sites in Alameda or Oakland, whether through our high school, after-school programs or preschool learning laboratory, Alternatives in Action gives youth with leadership potential the knowledge and tools to create a promising path to their future. Consider your support of our efforts an investment in young lives, our communities, and the future. Read on to hear about two students who benefited when we connected them to meaningful opportunities…and to see how you can help these kinds of successful journeys continue.

When Brian came to our charter high school, the Bay Area School of Enterprise, he admits he listened to his iPod more than his teachers and rarely spoke in class. But something clicked for him when Brian was introduced to our sound recording studio, first as a high school course, then as part of our after-school program, the HOME Project. Energized by the studio time, Brian also turned around his academic work and started taking a leadership role with other students, mentoring other youth in sound engineering and planning a Hip Hop Forum.

            “I’ve grown a lot. I’m more honest with myself,
              and I now take my future seriously.”

We’re also proud of Ciana, who came to our community with prolific talents that she had yet to recognize. Ciana now has more confidence in her abilities through mentoring children in Home Sweet Home Preschool as part of our career and life skills program. She’s grown as a leader through helping to plan our annual film festival, Project YouthView, and serving as the youth representative to an otherwise adult committee focused on marketing for our organization. Recently, Ciana developed a short poem revealing how she feels about Alternatives in Action. Her words capture the essence of our purpose and how your donation can make a lasting difference in a young person’s life:

“I came to learn to
Be a better person and
Walked away with my future”

On behalf of the over 300 high school-age youth who benefit from Alternatives in Action’s programs, I ask you to take a step today by investing in our programs. Please make a donation of an amount that is meaningful to you and, in doing so, help young people like Brian and Ciana learn, have new experiences, and grow as they create a promising path to their future.

With much appreciation,
Patricia Murillo
Executive Director, Alternatives in Action

P.S. We need your support more than ever before. Please invest today in the future of the youth we serve by making a donation now.