Do not plan on doing much of anything the days they bring your meals. Delivery times are…read more haphazard. They started coming about 9:30, now they come closer to between 10:30 and as late as 11:10, you never know. They're volunteers and are coming later and later, soon it could be noon or later. And you'd better be available or they won't leave anything until the next scheduled deIivery day; my building does have secured entry where they can call and you let them in to drop off a delivery. What if you have a doctor's or other important appointment and can't be home?

Thank you to all at the Meals on Wheels organization. You don't know the wonderful ripple effect…read moreyou have on peoples lives. You sure helped our family out tremendously. I am a professional chef and was forced by circumstances beyond our control to care for my foster father at home. He was a disabled veteran and qualified for services thorough Meals on Wheels. I was completely absorbed by his necessity for 24 hour care. The first thing the program did for us was give me some much needed downtime in between doctors appointments and in home care visits. The food arrived on time and our driver was the most caring and gracious friend you could every hope for in life. I was absolutely impressed with the quality and standard of the food. It was clean, tasty and nutritious. I am a little surprised by the negative reviews. Meals on Wheels is preparing food for a variety of people who may have dietary restrictions so they shy away from salt and sugar. However, you can add your own spices, if you like. Another tip might be to gently warm the food instead of NUKING it on high in the microwave, which destroys the texture of just about anything. There are other settings... like 8, give it a try. We are forever grateful

I attended the Uppercut for stand-up comedy. The host and audience are welcoming. I feel this…read moreenvironment is the best to practice stand-up over a dive bar since you got a crowd who is there to pay attention to the folks on stage.

The Youngest M has come here with her Montessori middle school where they do "Coffee Shop"…read moreperformances weekly. She asked me if we could go to their performance of "In the Heights", Lin-Manuel's fantastic musical that preceded Hamilton. "In the Heights", put on by Plethos Productions, is the first play at this venue, but they host a lot of other creative and interesting things. I am now following them and plan to check out some other events. We all thoroughly enjoyed "In the Heights". What a great show! Several of the performers are outstanding talents, and all of the production company is full of passion and enthusiasm. The venue is intimate, 50 seats, general seating. They offered beer, wine, horchata, tacos, coffee and more for sale at the event. All very reasonably priced. Only downside... a single restroom. Plan ahead, timing is everything, folks. I'm so pleased to have "discovered" this little gem I've walked by many times! Thanks, Little M.

I recently had the opportunity to attend a food tour organized by Family Bridges, a nonprofit…read moreorganization dedicated to supporting and uplifting the community, and the experience was beyond amazing. It was truly eye-opening and such a meaningful way to learn more about Oakland Chinatown, its culture, history, and community. Harriet, Tien, Danny, and Edmond were all incredibly kind, welcoming, and helpful throughout the tour. You can genuinely see how passionate they are about giving back to the community and supporting local small businesses. I really appreciated how they worked to promote safety and show people that Oakland Chinatown is a safe and vibrant place to visit, eat, and explore. Not only did we get to enjoy amazing food from local businesses, but we also learned so much history about the area and the people behind it. It's inspiring to see a nonprofit organization like Family Bridges creating positive change while uplifting the community at the same time. Thank you again to Harriet, Tien, Danny, and Edmond for such an unforgettable experience. These tour doesn't come often, however when they do, I would highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to learn more about Oakland Chinatown, support local businesses, and experience the incredible work Family Bridges is doing for the community! THANK YOU FAMILY BRIDGES TEAM !

Date: 12/16/2021 Time: 4:20 PM 56° Sunny…read more I found out about this nonprofit organization through Facebook. Their post was seeking donation for an event occurring this Saturday, December 18. The event is their annual Holiday Senior Luncheon. They not only will be distributing hot meals, but also special gift bags for 400 seniors. Their "goal is to serve and empower low income limited English proficient immigrant families to lead self-sufficient independent lives." (Quoted statement is from their Facebook page.) I stopped by their organization, only to find the door was locked. Thank goodness a Chinese gentleman was about to leave for the day. I told him I wanted to write out a check for a certain amount for Saturday's event. He was kind enough to invite me in and have a seat to make a generous contribution. There are reasons why I chose to make a charitable donation to Family Bridges during the holiday season. 1. I am a 70 year old Chinese woman, daughter of immigrant parents. Parents are from Toishan, China. The contribution is to honor my parents who are no longer with my family. 2. I grew up in Oakland Chinatown, attended an elementary school (Lincoln) a block west from this organization and the Chinese Community Cultural Center aka Milton Shoong Institute. 3. I have not forgotten where I came from. Although I have supported many other causes in the past, Oakland Chinatown is the community I grew up in from September 1959 to March 1974. Support the community by giving back to it. Family Bridges also with the benefit from KTSF's Toy Drive is encouraging people to donate brand new toys to the Lake Merritt Child Care Center, located at 250 - 12th Street, Oakland between 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. I will continue to support this nonprofit organization in the future.

Always passed by this place and finally decided to walk in today. So glad I did!…read more It's a small store but if you do some digging around, you'll find some good stuff. I came out with a pair of Saltwater sandals for my baby girl! How lucky am I? A few good brands. Nice staff. And the best part, the proceeds go to fund housing and programs for human trafficking survivors. Definitely will come back! I encourage you to check it out and support this little store.

This company also operates under the domain Itbiz.tech and posts on Reddit supposed job fairs,…read morecomputer training and dubious workshops with fictitious giftcards promised to elicit participation to receive grant funding from the city and county. Unfortunately they make promises to participants that they never intend to keep and ghost follow-up inquiries when participants attempt to obtain promised gift cards. Since this is the way they have been shown to operate, anyone desiring to participate in any of their programs or schemes should question the veracity of any claims or promises as they will ghost you when it is in their financial interest to do so.

TAGS opened where The Shoe Place once was . TAGS is a non-profit community service org. whose goal…read moreis "serving teens and young adults through creative reuse programs". All proceeds generated are used to for teenadvocacy.org Offerings: clothes, shoes, accessories, artisans' creations.... Was greeted warmly, cordially by team leaders Haley & Ian. Obviously most of the clothes weren't my size. Was introduced to a rad XL shirt that had a ridiculous price ($7). Sadly, it wasn't a fit. May have been a women's XL. Labels were removed. The artisan creations looked interesting. Don't know where i can put them. Will return to check out shirts... Street parking only. TAGS is on a corner.

I love thrifting and finding treasures and I finally got the chance to visit this cute thrift…read morestore. Lynn was immediate at welcoming me and while I only had a managed to find the cutest Mickey Mouse (from Disney) t-shirt for $10. They have handmade items created by local teens, a board where notes can go up. This shop not only supports teens, it offers upcycling workshops, gives teens jobs, and simply a great cause behind it all. Will definitely stop by again!!!

I came here as a volunteer event with my coworkers and I can say it was hard work, but very…read morerewarding and most importantly fun! Sign up for this event was very easy. You sign up before you arrive and check in at the lobby sign in kiosk. They do require masks at this time, but do provide you with extra masks and gloves if you do forget yours. Before your shift, you do a temperature check/screening outside which is very easy and non invasive. Parking is safe. A gated lot with tons of security cameras and volunteers in the parking lot at all times. With outdoor tent eating area. Tasks include sorting fruits/veggies and bagging them for transport. Organizing boxes ect. A task for everyone. The volunteers are all very helpful and nice. And at the end of your shifts you can see how much meals you provided. Shifts are 3 hours each. One from 8:30-12 and 12-3. Time flies when having fun. Highly recommend this place to volunteer and give back. Link to volunteer: https://www.accfb.org/get-involved/volunteer/

I've been here two times and this is a great & safe place to volunteer! You must sign up in advance…read moreonline. There's two 3 hr shifts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Once you get to the location, park all the way in the back, to the right side, then enter through the door. Once you enter, you'll be greeted, write your name on a name tag, then you'll check in on the computers, and they'll lead you to a room where they'll introduce you to the ACCFB, talk a little bit about the history, safety, etc. They also have lockers if you want to put your bag inside, and they have a break area where you can leave your water bottles, etc. The restroom is also clean as well! For the volunteering portion, I bagged apples & potatoes, and also assembled the giant cardboard boxes to fill up the produce and fruits in. It is super fun and you get a 15 minute break in between. This is a great location to do this solo, with family/friends, or even with work! There are lead volunteers around to help you with anything you may need. At the end, they'll recap how many pounds of foods were pack and how many meals will be served to the community. It is such a wonderful place to volunteer and I know it won't be my last time coming here!

Loved this cute little thrift shop in a quiet neighborhood in Alameda. We stopped by while in the…read morearea and luckily found cheap street parking right around the corner. A quaint store with good lighting and friendly staff, this thrift shop isn't big but does curate a nice little collection - I saw cute tops, dresses, scarves, handbags, and jewelry. Everything was tidy and in its right place. I'm not sure if there's a dressing room since I didn't use one, but there are plenty of mirrors around the store that you can use. Bonus: all proceeds go towards their affiliated animal rescue! I picked up a patterned skirt and T-shirt here for less than $20, and my friend got a few items as well. Checking out was easy breezy, and they let us know that they're able to take most donations (though if you have anything large, best to call in ahead of time). All in all, not much more I can ask for a pleasant thrifting experience.

I've noticed how pricing has really changed. I understand wanting to get top value for the…read morenonprofit mission. But the other side is thrifting is part bargain for the shopper. I'm not go to pay 90 dollars for a used piece of clothing. Regardless of brand. I am not going to donate or shop here for a while because I love thinking that someone will enjoy my nice items at a great price...but that doesn't seem to align right now.

Walked in greeted right away from the guard. 10/10. We…read morebegan shopping. So many great items. Clothes, purses, shoes small selection of furniture. Certain says if the week they have 50% off certain items. To bad people steal so no dressing room. Make sure u dress light. So clothes will fit over your clothes u like to try on. Huge book selection. Cashier explained every thing I needed explained! 10:10. We will be back. Price medium. Good quality clothes.

Walked into this shop and it was really well kept. It was nice and clean. Cute decor (can't…read morepurchase). Amazed at how neatly placed the books were on the shelves and it was by chronological order by color. It looked great. The clothes were neatly separated by women's and men's, sizes on the circle racks. T-shirts, sweaters, pants, coats were all on their own racks. I was greeted right away when I walked in. There was a security guard. I didn't find anything I like but I did see some cool shirts and items. It was a nice place to look around and to see what kinda unique gear they got. I would def come back if I was in town again.