Meet Our Neighbors
Fred Finch Youth Center
The Fred Finch Youth Center provides innovative, effective services supporting children, youth, young adults, and families to heal from trauma and lead healthy, productive lives. It is set on 80 acres tucked in the Oakland hills, and was founded in 1891 as an orphanage by Captain Duncan and Eunice Finch. The Center serves youth primarily from Alameda County who are developmentally delayed or transitioning out of foster care. They provide housing, mental health services, family services to assist families in becoming self-sufficient and resilient, and transitional services for youth moving out of the foster care system and into adulthood. Their new Rising Oaks program will offer affordable housing for young adults ages 18-24 moving out of the foster care system, and create a health and dental clinic that will serve youth and young adults throughout the county, as well as students at neighboring Bret Harte Middle School. Their current residential facility houses 14 youth and the grounds are active each day with families and community members. For more information on the Fred Finch Youth Center, visit fredfinch.org.
In April, teams from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints cleared the grounds, which were in desperate need of weeding, planted flowers, spread mulch, and painted the interior and exterior of the residential facility and community building. They also gave handmade quilts to the residents. Leah Jones, the Director of Development and Communications for Fred Finch Youth Center, says that they had a "completely wonderful experience" working with the volunteer teams. "They were very capable, and sensitive to what we do on campus and the populations we work with," she says, "and helped make it a beautiful place to come everyday." She says that the key to working well with the volunteer team was that they met several times in the weeks leading up to the project, so the team knew well in advance what the Center hoped to have accomplished and planned to minimize disruption to the day-to-day routine of the residents and staff.
Over the past few years, Rebuilding Together Oakland has had the pleasure of partnering with Fred Finch Youth Center several times to build planter boxes, clean-up the grounds and paint murals. Thank you for working with us, and thank you for all the excellent service you provide for our community!
In April, teams from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints cleared the grounds, which were in desperate need of weeding, planted flowers, spread mulch, and painted the interior and exterior of the residential facility and community building. They also gave handmade quilts to the residents. Leah Jones, the Director of Development and Communications for Fred Finch Youth Center, says that they had a "completely wonderful experience" working with the volunteer teams. "They were very capable, and sensitive to what we do on campus and the populations we work with," she says, "and helped make it a beautiful place to come everyday." She says that the key to working well with the volunteer team was that they met several times in the weeks leading up to the project, so the team knew well in advance what the Center hoped to have accomplished and planned to minimize disruption to the day-to-day routine of the residents and staff.
Over the past few years, Rebuilding Together Oakland has had the pleasure of partnering with Fred Finch Youth Center several times to build planter boxes, clean-up the grounds and paint murals. Thank you for working with us, and thank you for all the excellent service you provide for our community!
