Campaign for St. Mary’s Center

Why do we need a capital campaign?

St. Mary’s Center is a cornerstone of hope for people many have given up on. Situated in an urban neighborhood with the highest population of seniors living in poverty in the State of California and in a city where brown and black children are more likely to drop out of high school than graduate, St. Mary’s Center addresses basic human needs so that people in crisis are able to stabilize their lives and realize their dreams. Now this place of hope for so many is faced with a crisis of its own.

The property at 22^nd and San Pablo that has been home to St. Mary’s Center for the last eleven years has been sold. The impact of such news is devastating as this place of last resort for so many homeless and extremely low-income seniors and families with children, is what helped them turn their lives around.

Yet the situation also opens up an exciting challenge for St. Mary’s Center to secure a permanent home and financial stability so that it will continue to be a beacon in our community.

The Campaign for St. Mary’s Center is a three-year community effort to raise $10 million to secure the future of this Oakland institution. Calling on the generosity of all our friends and supporters, St. Mary’s Center plans to purchase, renovate and move to a location that will house all of our programs within walking distance of this neighborhood of need. The Campaign will also create a $2 million Endowment to ensure the stability of St. Mary’s Center for future generations. There is a tight timetable for this Campaign as we need to move by Fall, 2006.

Time to Act

The crisis facing St. Mary’s Center is imminent and so is the opportunity. It comes at a time when the gap between the rich and the poor is the widest it has been since the depression. Demographics tell us that both the population of elderly poor and children living in poverty is growing dramatically. The need for St. Mary’s Center has never been greater!

For over three decades, different people have carried the torch of St. Mary’s Center, lighting the way because they believed that economics should not determine whether you have a roof over your head, food in your belly or hope in your life.

This is a place that pushes the envelope on what is possible. The stories of transformation give witness to that. Now the torch is in our hands at a juncture when we can help determine whether this place of hope will continue.

Your role in this is key. Buying a permanent site for St. Mary’s Center gives generations of seniors and children with few options a place to turn to when their lives seem lost.

A $10 million campaign is formidable, and will take the energy and generosity of people who believe in the mission and work of St. Mary’s Center.

Your contribution is critical to our success.

925 Brockhurst Street Oakland, CA 94608-4222

(510) 923-9600 x 223

www.stmaryscenter.org