Our Mission
BasicNecessities is a non-profit charitable organization, headquartered in Livermore, California. Our mission is to provide resources to people in need, particularly those in transitional or crisis situations, who are trying to improve their lives.
We do this by providing resources, such as in-kind donations, limited financial assistance, and information, to those in need of life's basic necessities, including food and shelter, financial and educational aid, medical assistance, pregnancy counseling and assistance, safety from abusive relationships, re-entry into the community, and help from alcohol and substance abuse. We serve the Tri-Valley area (Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, and nearby communities), and various mission locations.
The resource pages on this website (ie. navbar to the right) provide information about local resources in the Tri-Valley area; food, shelter, financial aid, legal aid, educational aid, medical assistance, pregnancy resources, alcohol and substance abuse recovery, and help for victims of domestic violence. The pages are designed to be printed so that you can give them to a friend or someone in need.
2008 Programs
Gift Baskets for Homeless Moms * Support to Local Families & Individuals
Student Grants * Shoes for Livermore K-5 Students * Young Latina Self Esteem
Blankets for Crisis Situations * Bus Passes * Cuba * Ensenada * Belize * Books
We wish to thank all of our sponsors for your gracious support. We would not be able to do our work without your help.
Gift Baskets for Homeless Moms "Baskets of Love"
The homeless mothers at Tri-Valley Haven and Shepherds Gate homeless and domestic violence shelters are often overlooked on Mother's Day. On this special day, the Mothers will be presented with gift baskets containing items that they are normally not able to provide for themselves, such as dining cards, gift certificates to local hair salons, and a host of cosmetics, soaps, and bath oils with which to pamper themselves. Last year, we were able to provide 35 gift baskets. This year we hope to provide baskets to even more homeless moms.
(News, Photos)
Support to Local Families and Individuals
Imagine sharing a one bedroom apartment with 7 people, or being a single mom with 5 children and also being a victim of domestic violence, or moving into an apartment with no furniture or cooking tinsels, or just needing to ask for help in a crisis but not knowing English well enough to do so. Due to your generous support, and grants from local foundations, we are able to provide crisis support and in some cases financial support for the purchase of groceries, clothes, and other items.
As part of this effort, we provide provides food, clothing, and bedding on an ongoing basis to families of children who attend Marylin Avenue Elementary School in Livermore, Ca.
How you can help: Donate food, furniture, kitchen utensils, and clothes in good condition, disposable baby diapers, baby formula, or money.
Student Grants
We provide grants for students reentering the academic environment and for the first in the family to attend college.
Reentry Grants are for students who are reentering the academic environment after a long period of time away of academia. This program is for those students who might not qualify for other types of financial aid for whatever reason, and who are trying to improve their lives by reentering college. Applications are not being taken at this time. Please visit us again for updates.
First in Family Grants are for those students who are the first in their family to attend college. This program is for those students who might not qualify for other types of financial aid, but who are the first in their family to attend a junior college or university. Applications are not being taken at this time. Please visit us again for updates.
Sole Mates (Shoes) - Livermore
Imagine being in the 2nd grade and never having had new shoes. It's hard to believe, but that is exactly what happened this year when we gave new shoes to a number of underprivileged students at Marylin Avenue Elementary in Livermore. The children were so excited and there were so many tears of joy (mostly the adults watching). This year we want to provide shoes for additional children at Jackson Avenue Elementary, and Portola Elementary, also in Livermore.
How you can help: We primarily need financial support, because the shoes are purchased to fit specific children. With the discounts provided by local businesses, shoes are typically less than $20.
Nosotras En Control
This program is for middle-school and high-school aged Latina girls. Nosotras En Control works with Latina girls who are the first or second generation of their family to live in the Unites States. They are also typically the first women in their families to attend school after the primary grades, and thus the first to have a chance at graduating from high school. The goal of the Nosotras En Control program is to empower and educate young Latinas in the Tri-Valley so that they can become the leaders of tomorrow. This program focuses on building self-esteem, making positive choices and creating an educational plan. For many of the girls in this program gangs and teenage pregnancy are what await them if they do not “take control” when they are young. BasicNecessities.org works with several departments at Las Positas College in Livermore to provide the girls with a series of workshops during the summer. (Photos)
Safety Pals
This program provides local police agencies with blankets and stuffed animals for children who are removed from a home or family situation. Typically in these crisis situations, when a child is removed from a residence, the situation is tense and volatile with little time for packing, and the child may be removed from the home with little other than the clothes on his or her back. For these situations, we provide the police with a blanket and a stuffed animal for the child, to help them know that there is someone who cares about them.
Bus Pass Buddies
Trying to get to work, to school, or to the doctors, without a car can be an overwhelming challenge. Although many services are free in our community, transportation is not one of them. Bus passes cost $50 per month. Your one-time or ongoing donation of $50 a month can make a big difference in someone's life.
Cuba Mission
The Cuba mission program, started last year, will provide shoes, school supplies, and books to school age children in rural areas of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, and Camagüey. Cuba is an extremely poor country, and many school age children in rural areas are not able to go to school because they don't have the proper shoes, and school supplies are difficult for the average family to obtain. BasicNecessities, in collaboration with Las Positas College, will travel to Cuba this year to purchase these items (since they can't be imported into the country).
Ensenada Mission
This impoverished community in the foothills above Ensenada, Mexico, has all the problems that plague our local communities: single parent families, alcohol and drug addictions, domestic violence, but also extreme poverty. We are supporting two ongoing activities in this community. The first is a children's center called Casa de Pan, a place where latch-key children (grades K - 5) are able to stay safely until their parents return home from work, and where they receive a hot meal, love and attention. This year, the second project will be focused towards single moms, for example by doing small home repair projects.
(Photo's of previous missions)
Belize Mission
We provide ongoing support to "Da Wata Fountin'" in Punta Gorda, Toledo, Belize. This project began as an outreach to the many Belizeans who spend their nights on Front Street involved in prostitution, drugs, and alcohol abuse. As in many third world countries, young girls who have been prostitutes are no longer welcome by their families. When someone comes to Da Wata Fountin' the staff works to build a relationship with them, share Christ, and help connect that person with local ministries that will integrate them back into the local community. Da Wata Fountin' has since grown into a broader ministry to share the word of Christ with the locals.
(Video of Belize mission)
Oakland Children's Hospital
We need children's books in Spanish for Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland. Donations are needed to supplement the activities and entertainment provided to patients at the hospital. Patients range in age from newborns to teens, but items are especially needed for teens. Children's books in Spanish are one of the high volume requests, and are always needed.
Directors
Charles Thiel
Catherine Suarez
Denise Rogers
Volunteers
We wish to thank our many volunteers. A few are notable for their support of our organization:
Sarah Katz, Kim Myrick, Josie Luark, Stephen Luark, Marlen Arevalo, Richard Dunbar, Kristen Vellinger, Troy LambertHistory
It's a God thing...
Donations
If you are interested in providing support to one of these projects, please send your donations to the following address, or contact us:
BasicNecessities, Inc.
P.O. Box 1167
Livermore, CA 94551
You can also donate using PayPal: