Special Events
Our mission is to help homeless people achieve health and self-sufficiency to the maximum of their capacity. Every day brings new successes, small and great, in the lives of our clients. We tell some of those stories and share the details of ongoing advocacy and other projects in our monthly newsletter, BOSS Currents. You can subscribe to the newsletter by emailing sonjafitz@yahoo.com - put “Subscribe” in the subject field. Please use the menu at left to hear about our most current events and activities!
Click here to view pictures from the BOSS 35th Anniversary Celebration http://www.flickr.com/photos/26583892@N04/sets/72157605274596937/
BOSS Celebrates 35 Years Turning Lives Around
Story by Sonja Fitz, BOSS Development Director
On May 8th, over 250 local politicians, business and faith leaders, and staff, supporters, and participants of BOSS (Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency) came together to celebrate the organization’s 35+ years on the front lines of fighting homelessness and helping local families and individuals build new lives. The lively and uplifting evening began at 6 PM in the garden-rimmed
Upstairs, the dinner program kicked off at 7 PM in Georgian Ballroom, with its beautiful bayside views and table centerpieces designed by Executive Director boona cheema and her niece Sukhmani Cheema. A stirring welcoming invocation was performed by Reverend Allen Williams from St. Paul AME Church in Berkeley, a long-time friend of BOSS and extraordinary partner in our annual Holiday Gift Drive. A number of youth from the church also attended to share the celebration.
A former homeless participant from BOSS’s programs, now in housing and an active member of the organization’s Board of Directors, Carmen Angelandretti, told her story of overcoming and successfully dealing with mental illness, joblessness, and homelessness. Emcees Marty Fleetwood (HomeBase Center for Common Concerns, www.homebaseccc.org) and Daniel Boggan (The California Endowment, www.calendow.org) led the audience in an engaging program that began with an on-stage interview by SF Chronicle reporter Kevin Fagan with BOSS Executive Director boona cheema about the state of homelessness today and where we go from here.
This was followed by a fun and educational trivia contest (do you know what celebrity visited MASC and took pictures with staff and clients?) with original works of art by BOSS staff and volunteers distributed as prizes, live music (thank you, Godwin Olinga – and Kevin Fagan himself, who is currently working on a self-produced CD of his own music!), and a keynote address by MoveOn.org and MomsRising.org co-founder Joan Blades, who described the commitment shared by MomsRising.org and BOSS to grassroots organizing for social change.
Special guests and friends of BOSS said hello during the evening or were recognized by the emcees, including Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates (who presented a huge and beautifully framed Certificate of Recognition from Assemblywoman Loni Hancock), Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, Berkeley Council Members Darryl Moore, Max Anderson, and Linda Maio, and others. Large guest contingents were present from sponsoring corporations Kaiser Permanente, Mechanics Bank, St. Paul AME Church, Urban Habitat, Wells Fargo, and others. Other sponsors included Mal Warwick & Associates, 4th Street Shops, The California Endowment, Alliance Metals, AC Transit, and more.BOSS Board Member Dan Scarola closed the event, with a heartfelt thank you to the many sponsors, guests, and supporters of BOSS.
It was our best event ever, and one we were overjoyed to share with so many long-time partners and supporters – as well as a number of new friends and allies. Please stay with BOSS as we rally our energies for the challenges ahead!
