A Showcase of How Alameda County Employees Care for their Communities
Latest Updates
Valentines for Seniors
The Alameda County Information Technology Department (ITD) has been organizing community service events for years. They regularly pickup trash around Lake Merritt, donate clothing to local organizations, and collect books for kids in the community. This year, they decided to try something new for Valentine’s Day. They gathered on their lunch hours and made Valentine’s Day cards. The cards included uplifting and hopeful messages. The goal was to donate the cards to a local senior living facility and bring a little warmth and joy to the residents. In the end, over 70 cards were created and donated to Washington Center in San Leandro.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program – Be the “I” in VITA!
With inflation in the headlines and our community’s day to day reality, it is more important than ever to make sure tax filers receive all of the credits and refunds they have earned. With your help, they will! The Alameda County Social Services Agency is recruiting volunteer tax preparers for the upcoming tax season!
Are you interested in learning a new skill, making a difference in your community, and meeting new friends? Join the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program hosted by the Social Services Agency. Volunteer registration for tax preparers is now open for the 2022-2023 season! Choose from four sites: North Oakland, East Oakland (Enterprise Way), Hayward, and San Lorenzo. We need volunteers during the program’s operational hours: February 8, 2023 – April 17, 2023, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 5:30 – 8:30 pm and Saturdays 9:00 am – 2:00 pm. (Schedule subject to change.)
Last year, thanks to the incredible work of 93 talented volunteers (47 of whom were first-time volunteers), we prepared tax returns for over 2,100 low-income families. Our four sites collectively obtained over $5 million in federal and state tax refunds! The average adjusted gross income for families that use our services is about $30,000, while recent studies show that the actual cost of living for a family of four (two adults, one preschooler and one school-aged child) is $106,866 a year in the Bay Area.
Studies also show that in the absence of no-cost tax assistance for filers who cannot afford expensive tax preparers, EITC and other benefits go unclaimed and “left on the table.” But when you come to the table, VITA can serve more individuals and families and return more hard-earned benefits to our community.
Anyone can volunteer. Refer a friend or family member. No prior experience is necessary. All that is needed is a desire and willingness to help others. We will provide IRS Advanced Tax Law certification training to all volunteers. You can choose the three-day in-person instruction or the self-paced online training. Register here to sign up for training and to volunteer. Returning volunteer classes begin November 15. Training sessions for new volunteers will begin on December 6. Sign up early to choose your desired training dates.
If you have any questions, please contact the VITA team at vita.eitc@acgov.org.
ACSO “Make Change Count” Challenge
Throughout the entire month of March, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office will host a fundraising campaign challenge, “Make Change Count.” This event will support Intellectual Disabilities Awareness month, and all monies raised from this campaign will go directly to the Special Olympics of Northern California (SONC). Through friendly competition, eight duty stations have accepted the challenge to have their own designated donation box to see who will raise the most awareness and funds during the month of March.
The competing duty stations are:
3 Park Place (Main Lobby), Coroner Bureau & Crime Lab (Main Lobby), Dublin Police Services (Main Lobby), Eden Township Substation (Main Lobby), Headquarters (Main Lobby), Rene C. Davidson Courthouse (10th Floor), Regional Training Center (In front of the Main Office), and Santa Rita Jail (Alcove, in front of the Ready Room).
Donations can be made in person at the duty station donation boxes, or you can scan the QR for an electronic donation and select which duty station you would like to support. Please, “Make Change Count” in support of the Special Olympics and change a life!
Stories
CAO Book Drive
Looking for a way to give back to the community and also support a fellow County department, staff at the County Administrator’s Office (CAO) reached out to the County Library to host a book drive at their offices.
The CAO teamed up to purchase old favorites, fun board books, early reader books, and a variety of others to be donated to children visiting incarcerated parents or guardians at Santa Rita and Glenn-Dyer Jails. Nearly 140 children’s books and cash donations were collected for Start With a Story – a great feat during an already busy holiday season!
In the U.S., an estimated 2.7 million children, ages 5-18, have a justice-involved parent and around 10 million children experience parental incarceration at some point in their lives.
An Alameda County Librarian who runs the jail’s inmate literacy services initiated Start With A Story in early 2007 after watching children wait in line for hours — often an entire day — to spend a few minutes with their incarcerated loved ones. An untapped opportunity to provide literacy outreach to these youngsters was recognized, and since then, Start with a Story has delivered story times, free books, and family literacy activities to children, 0-16 years old, who come for visits at Alameda County jails.In 2018, roughly 2,300 books were distributed through Start With a Story.
For more information on Start With a Story and how you can help, contact Lisa Harris, Director of Social Justice Services at lisa.harris@acgov.org or Raul Rodriguez, Jails Literacy Specialist at rrodriguez@acgov.org.
Volunteer
“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”
– Oscar Wilde
Alameda County employees play many roles in delivering a wide range of vital services to our communities like health, well-being, safety, vital, recreational, and infrastructure. Our employees are proud to continue their community service off hours too. We collectively volunteer our time to helping local non-profit agencies, and programs deliver their services to the community.
The organizations could use your help too. Won’t you join us in caring for the communities around you.
You can get started by viewing the opportunities in your area.
Combined Charities
The mission of the annual Combined Charities program is to provide a platform for Alameda County employees to give to the charity of their choice. Pledges are made annually through one-time requests or via payroll deduction to help spread the donation over the year. Workplace campaigns are a very efficient form of non-profit fundraising to help make our community and world a better place.
This past year’s them was “Unity. The Power of Giving.”
2023
$372,032
2022
$401,218
2021
$395,033
2020
$426,702
Alameda County employees create imaginative displays out of non-perishable food to fight hunger in our community during the annual Stone Soup Competition! Now in its eighth year, the Stone Soup Drive has provided thousands of meals for East Bay families.
2022 Board of Supervisors Office Display – “Have a Heart”
You can help contribute in the fight to end hunger, too! Alameda County Food Bank takes donations year-round.
Stone Soup Food Drive Displays
Photos and Video
Mentorship
Alameda County is proud to host a number of wide-ranging Mentorship programs throughout the year.
Find out which of our varying programs might be a great fit for you, and check back to see if the opportunity you’re interested in is accepting applications.
Youth Leadership Academy
A program that gives high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to learn about and discuss County programs and services, develop leadership skills and meet students from schools throughout Alameda County.
Citizens Academy
A 6-session interactive program that provides insight to County services and operations and offers opportunities for civic engagement in the County.
Student Internship Program
The internship program at the Alameda County provides the interns an opportunity to work on the latest technologies solving real business problems under the guidance of an experienced professional.
Disaster Relief Fund
“Each of us as human beings has a responsibility to reach out to help our brothers and sisters affected by disasters. One day it may be us or our loved ones needing someone to reach out and help.”
– MICHAEL W. HAWKINS, AMERICAN RED CROSS
The United States is responding to an outbreak of respiratory disease known as COVID-19 that has now been detected in worldwide, and communities everywhere are dealing with unprecedented challenges. We have asked the Board of Supervisors to formally approve the reactivation of the Alameda County Disaster Relief Fund to enable Alameda County employees and people in the community to voluntarily make cash and/or online donations to benefit the victims of this unprecedented event.
The Alameda County Disaster Relief Fund was initially established in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and has been reactivated several times to help victims of tragic events including mass shootings, hurricanes, earthquakes and fires.
We assure you that all contributions to the Alameda County Disaster Relief Fund will go directly to helping the many people impacted by COVID-19.
COVID-19: Donate Personal Protective Equipment
The County is organizing donations of much needed personal protective equipment (PPE).
We can only accept new items in original packaging.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):
- Donating 100 individual pieces of PPE or less? Donate directly to hospitals, long-term care facilities, or the local fire department.
- Donating 100 individual pieces of PPE or more? Email covid.donations@acgov.org with a list of items to be donated and you will receive drop-off information.
Supplies we need include:
N95 or P100 Respirator Masks
Surgical Masks
Protective Gowns
Disposable Gloves
Hand Sanitizer
Disinfectants & Wipes
Goggles & Eye Protection