Alameda Point Collaborative Combats Poverty and Homelessness with the Help of Haas MBAs

Community Partner Spotlight: Alameda Point Collaborative

Alameda Point Collaborative (apcollaborative.org) is a supportive housing community that was founded in 1999 to combat poverty and homelessness. Operating within the local community, APC began by transforming military housing on the former Alameda Naval Station into supportive housing communities. APC provides 500 formerly homeless residents, including more than 300 youth, safety and stability with a home to live. In addition to providing shelter, the organization focuses on providing job training skills and mental health counseling by trained professionals to encourage development. APC places a special focus on the youth of its community to ensure the future can overcome the drastic effects of poverty and homelessness. Emphasizing education as the core indicator of success, APC helps youth learn about health, nutrition, and horticulture.

Photos courtesy of Alameda Point Collaborative’s Facebook page

Ever year, as a part of orientation week, first-year full-time Haas MBA students spend half a day providing community service at Alameda Point Collaborative.

Many continue this volunteering at the collaborative throughout the year and hold auctions to raise money for it. The APC activities are part of the MBA Challenge 4 Charity, a nonprofit that brings MBA’s from nine different schools to contribute to local charities and induce a sense of community involvement and social responsibility. In 2012, Berkeley-Haas was recognized as the Educational Partner of the Year in recognition of the thousands of volunteer hours that MBA students dedicate to the nonprofit each year. In 2010, Haas’ Social Sector Solutions team created a business plan for APC’s new social enterprise division.

Alison Brock, MBA 13, served as the president of Haas Challenge 4 Charity (C4C):

“C4C is a nonprofit organization that pools the talents and resources of MBA students from across the west coast to benefit charity. At Haas, we volunteer and raise funds for The Special Olympics of Northern California and Alameda Point Collaborative (APC). This past year, we spent time gardening at the APC Ploughshares Nursery and assisting with other landscaping initiatives.”

By April 2013, Alison and her team worked more than 2,000 hours to deliver more $47,000 for APC and the Special Olympics of Northern California. To learn more about C4C check out these links: haas.campusgroups.com/c4c and challenge4charity.com

This post was the Partner Spotlight of the Fall 2013 Social Impact Report.