Periodically we attend interesting events or conferences, travel to far-off lands, learn interesting things, and meet fascinating people. This blog is our way of sharing these experiences with you. Our first blogging adventure is from Rimini, Italy where three Rubicon staffers are attending a large food/social change conference.

Check it out!

We have started seeing consumers in our Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) program, Bridges to Home.

Together with our agency partners, Rubicon will serve 150 West County adults with serious mental illness, who are homeless or at serious risk of homelessness, and who are either underserved or not connected to treatment, over the next two years. Supported housing is central to this progressive recovery-based program. This exciting new program has a significant outreach component, aimed at reaching those who for cultural, language, or other reasons have not been getting help. Once someone is enrolled in the Bridges To Home program, the care is focused around personal service coordination which may include educational and vocational supports, wellness recovery peer programs, substance abuse treatment, and financial counseling,. The team will link consumers with other services and resources to support community integration.

More information about MHSA throughout the state can be found at:
http://www.dmh.ca.gov/mhsa/default.asp

MHSA information specific to Contra Costa County can be found at:
http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/

Well over 300 people gathered in the courtyard at 2500 Bissell Ave in Richmond on Friday, September 14 to complete job applications and meet some of the 30+ employers present.

The applicants, all pre-screened by Rubicon’s Workforce Services and other partnering organizations, brought their resumes and left with phone numbers and plans to follow up. Wells Fargo’s eBus was there with its internet-connected computers and tutorials on budgeting, savings plans, and more.

Rubicon holds job fairs several times a year and so if you are an employer who is interested in participating in the spring, call us at 510 412 1718.

Learn more about our Workforce Services

Over 30 Chevron volunteers donned painter caps, rolled up their sleeves, and dedicated themselves to a half-day each at Rubicon sites in three different cities, over the week of 9/10. They sorted donated clothes and computers at Rubicon Berkeley, they made repairs to the roof at Rubicon's headquarters in Richmond, and they painted exterior walls at Rubicon's El Cerrito Idaho Apartments.

We are very grateful to Chevron volunteers for all of their help. Their enthusiasm and good cheer was infectious!

Artists from Rubicon’s Independent Living Skills (ILS) Program will show their work at the de Young museum on Saturday, October 6 as part of the Access Advisor’s Open House and Disability Arts Festival. The event will be held in the Koret Auditorium and followed by a Meet the Artists. ILS provides essential life skills counseling for people living with disabilities.

Join us to see some beautiful art!

For more information, click here

Rubicon’s Director of Case Management, Benita Harris, has been selected to participate in LISC’s Community Development Leadership Institute.

The 3rd annual CDLI will be an intensive 9- month learning opportunity for a select group of senior staff at non-profit housing and community development organizations. LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) provides nonprofit community developers with the skills, information, and financial support they need to be effective agents of change.

To learn more, click here

A BIG thanks goes to the following funders! We could not deliver the results we do without your support. Thank you!

Safeway
Surdna Foundation
United Way of the Bay Area
Tipping Point Community
REDF
Home Depot
Peets Coffee and Tea
Starbucks
Noah’s Bagels
Whole Foods
Casino San Pablo

Donate to Rubicon today!

Thanks to the generous support from our donors, Rubicon Programs is able to continue to provide high quality direct services to those most in need in Bay Area communities. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on donations from our community supporters – including you – for a significant portion of our annual operating budget.

Every gift adds to Rubicon’s ability to sustain our year-around programs and services – it’s easy and convenient to make a gift to Rubicon using one of the following gift vehicles:

• Individual and Corporate Cash Gifts
• Stock Gifts
• IRA Retirement Account Gifts
• Employee Contribution Programs and Matching Gifts
• Tribute Gifts
• Planned Estate Gifts
• Sponsor or Purchase Tickets to Rubicon Events
• In Kind and Professional Contributions
• Gift Sponsorships, Recommendations and Referrals

Gifts may be made via mail, telephone and Rubicon’s website. Make checks payable to Rubicon Programs Inc. and send them to:

Rubicon Programs Inc.
Development Office
2500 Bissell Avenue
Richmond, CA 94804

Donations are happily accepted by phone. Call our Development office at (510) 231-3965. Donate online by visiting our website: www.RubiconPrograms.org Thank you for your generous support!

Another way to support Rubicon is to turn your guilty pleasures of shopping into charitable acts! Shop online at www.FreePledge.com and support Rubicon at no cost! FreePledge enables you to shop online from prominent retailers, to pay the normal prices, and to have a percentage of your purchases donated to Rubicon at no cost. A win-win! There are over 175 prominent online retailers like Amazon, Target, and eBay available to you today.

Click here!

Are you interested in helping people to move out of poverty and to improve the quality of their lives? Do you want to contribute your time to a leading organization with nealy 35 years of experience?

Rubicon Programs is seeking volunteer Board members! Specifically we are looking for individuals whose business has a significant presence in Contra Costa County, business leaders, venture capitalists, PR and marketing professionals, and workforce services leaders. The Board meets monthly – in person or by phone – and is expected to fundraise for the organization. We are looking for expertise and energy to help us implement our three year strategic plan.

For more information and an application form, contact Jane Fischberg at 510 231 3987 or janef@rubiconprograms.org.