Can you believe there are only two days left in the year?  And what a year its been at the Ella Baker Center- our 15th Anniversary.

To celebrate, I invite you to be part of our 2011 Top 10 Successes:

1. 1. More than 400 individuals participated in 23 service projects at the inaugural Throw Down for the Town, Oakland’s first city-wide day of service. (Look for an even bigger event in 2012!)
2. 2. We celebrated 15 years of people-powered change at the 2011 Ellas, where we honored three local visionaries: Akaya Windwood, Favianna Rodriguez and Asian Pacific Environmental Network.
3. 3. We welcomed our third group of Heal the Streets youth -- Oakland’s emerging community leaders and peace advocates.
4. 4. Books Not Bars joined hundreds from the California Teachers Association in Sacramento for the State of Emergency Day of Action to decry that more funds are spent to incarcerate our youth than to educate them.
5. 5. Soul of the City campaign launched Reclaim the Future, a workshop that inspires and engages community members to create grassroots change. (Stay tuned for 2012 workshop dates.)
6. 6. We led the Oakland Climate Action Coalition (OCAC) that helped pass Oakland’s first Energy and Climate Action Plan with some of the strongest green gas reduction goals of any city.
7. 7. This very blog, Ella’s Voice was a source for analysis, inspiration and action for more than 90,000 visitors.
8. 8. More than 100 community members represented Team Ella Baker Center at the Oakland Running Festival, running for health and justice while raising more than $30,000. (We are recruiting now for the 2012 team.)
9. 9. We co-piloted Oakland Solar Mosaic, a new solar project using a crowd-source funding model, that is bringing solar to community buildings such as the Asian Resource Center and People’s Grocery.And finally....

10.  You and hundreds of others have been the people-power behind this success -- with your time and your financial support. None of this would be possible without it. We are honored to have the support of a broad network of donors who believe in, and invest in our campaigns for justice, peace and opportunity.

Be a part of the Top 10 by making a year-end gift to the Ella Baker Center. Your gift today will ensure we enter 2012 with the resources we need to build leaders and develop community strength.

Thank you, in advance, for your support. Together we will build a world where every person and community can thrive.