A Night for the Children - April 28, 2017

OR Download our RSVP Reply Card and mail with your payment to: Ann Martin Center Attn:

On April 28, 2017, Ann Martin Center will celebrate its Annual Spring Gala Benefit Dinner, "A Night for the Children," at the beautiful Scottish Rite Center in downtown Oakland. With approximately 200 guests in attendance each year, we are grateful to the many generous businesses and individuals that support this signature event, including Wells Fargo Bank, Dodge and Cox, and Kaiser Permanente.

Come to celebrate Ann Martin Center's achievements in supporting the mental health and learning needs of underserved children and families in the East Bay. The program will include cocktails & hors d'oeuvres, a live and silent auction, gourmet dinner, moving testimonial, and a special performance by Destiny Arts, a non-profit performing arts group located in Emeryville, CA.

Gala Honorary Chair: California Assemblyman Tony Thurmond, 15th District

Assemblymember Tony Thurmond represents California’s 15th Assembly which includes the East Bay communities that stretch along the I-80 corridor from Hercules to Oakland. Prior to his election to the Assembly, he served on the Richmond City Council in 2005, the West Contra Costa Unified School District from 2008 to 2012 and served as Senior Director of Community and Government Relations at Lincoln Child Center.

He has demonstrated his unwavering commitment to the field of mental health by sponsoring AB 1025 that funds mental health specialists in elementary schools. In Alameda County, Ann Martin Center is one of the biggest providers of mental health services at the elementary school level through the EPSDT program, and in June 2016, Assemblymember Thurmond selected Ann Martin Center as "2016 Nonprofit of the Year" for his district. We were honored to receive this recognition.

At the forefront of innovation, the Ann Martin Center has been providing high quality mental health services, and educational support to the greatest at-risk families in Alameda County for over 50 years. It is with great pleasure that I honor and recognize the tremendous work, achievements, and the dedicated staff of the Ann Martin Center, by naming them the California State Assembly 15th District Nonprofit of the year.”

–California Assemblymember Tony Thurmond, 15th District

Entertainment: Destiny Arts Performing Center

Destiny Arts Center is an Oakland-based nonprofit violence prevention and arts education organization that has been serving youth ages 3-24 for over 25 years through after-school, weekend and summer programs in dance, theater, martial arts, self-defense, performance and youth leadership at our Oakland center and in up to 45 East Bay public schools annually. Destiny uses the performing and martial arts as a platform to build peace, create awareness and effect social change.

The Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company is a multicultural group of teens working with professional artist to create original performance art. Using hip hop, modern, and aerial dance, theater and martial arts, teens harness emotions and channel them through creative movement and performance. The group performs for up to 25,000 audience members each year in different settings and has been the subject of two feature length documentary films.

Auction Items

In-kind donations from community businesses are essential to the success of our event, further helping us reach our year-end goal of $375,000. Proceeds enable us to assist over 1,000 children annually through over 28,000 hours of counseling and learning support. Please consider partnering with us to help children succeed in school, develop vital social skills, face problems with courage, and move into productive and fulfilling adulthood with confidence, self-esteem and resilience.

When you donate, you will receive:

· Name and/or logo recognition prominently displayed on auction item sign

· Name recognition in the event program book and slideshow

· Name recognition on our annual donors list, in print and on our website

Please send the completed form and your donation to Ann Martin Center, Attn: Emily Chen, 1375 55^th Street, . You can also email the donation form to .

Sponsorships

Sponsorships are critical to our annual gala event. We are very thankful for our Corporate Sponsors: Dodge & Cox, Kaiser Permanente, Crossroads Trading Company, and Telecare Corporation. All sponsors include tickets to the event, ads in our program book, and recognition on our website, invitations, and program slideshow. If you are interested in sponsoring our "A Night for the Children" Gala this year, please contact Emily Chen, Development Coordinator, at or x 304.

We are grateful for your loyalty and generosity helping us reach underserved children in our East Bay community.

OR Download our RSVP Reply Card and mail with your payment to: Ann Martin Center Attn: