Town Fare at the Oakland Museum of California 1000 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94607
Thursday, May 14th, 2026 from 6-9pm
PRESENTING SPONSORSHIP – $50,000
Recognition as Presenting Sponsor all evening:
GOLD SPONSORSHIP – $25,000
Recognition as a Gold Sponsor all evening:
BRONZE SPONSORSHIP – $10,000
Recognition as a Bronze Sponsor all evening:
FRIEND SPONSORSHIP – $5,000
Recognition as a Friend Sponsor:
ADVOCATE SPONSORSHIP – $2,500
Recognition as an Advocate Sponsor:
ALLY SPONSORSHIP – $1,000
Recognition as an Ally Sponsor:
INDIVIDUAL TICKET – $200
Tickets Available Soon! Deadline for sponsor listing inclusion in printed invitation is March 14, 2026. Program ad deadline is April 30, 2026. Deadline to RSVP is May 8, 2026.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
*Last updated April 21, 2026
PRESENTING
BRONZE
Dan Kostenbauder
Jen and Abe Friedman
Keith Shultz and Karen May
Kristin and Lyle Johnson
Mark and Mari Donnelly
The Daggs Family
FRIEND
Hilda West and Tom Dufurrena
Nancy Heinen and Dennis DeBroeck
ADVOCATE
ALLY
Darryl Glass and Aaron Chan
David Kellis and Julie Norris
Ken Ludlum
Michelle Ellison and James Eyer
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SILENT AUCTION DONORS
A.C.T.
Berkeley Rep
Lucy Blue
New Conservatory Theatre Center
Oakland Ballers
Oakland Roots
Oakland Theater Project
San Francisco Playhouse
San Francisco Symphony
Shotgun Players
The Kassab Family
Viarae Prosecco
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR BEVERAGE SPONSORS
Kathy and Thomas Steyaert
For more info or to confirm participation, please contactClaudia Miller:Phone: 510.679.3407Email: cmiller@firstplaceforyouth.org
OUR STORY
In 1998, two graduate students were struck by how many young people who grew up in foster care faced intense challenges after aging out of care, including poverty and homelessness.
With a small grant in hand, they were inspired to help break the cycle of poverty for these vulnerable youth and launched First Place for Youth, the first organization in Northern California exclusively dedicated to addressing the lack of affordable housing and resources for foster youth who had exited foster care. Since that time, our programs have served more than 10,000 young people between the ages of 16-25 in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and six other states around the country.
Our mission is to help foster youth build the skills they need to make a successful transition to self-sufficiency and responsible adulthood. We provide safe, stable housing, paired with intensive case management to build crucial life-skills and emotional wellbeing. Our individualized education and employment counseling are the core of our program, ensuring that young people have a clear path to succeed in school and build job readiness skills qualifying them for living-wage positions.
By the time they exit our My First Place™ program 97% of youth attain stable housing and 85% are employed. Learn more about our impact and visit our My First Place™ page.
RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS
2025 Annual Report
In 2025, First Place for Youth served 1,679 young people directly in California and Mississippi and through our network partners in Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Ohio. In California, 566 young adults gained housing, education, and employment coaching, as well as comprehensive case management supports through our flagship My First Place™ program. New this year: First Place opened the first office outside California in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, expanding the My First Place™ program to serve 30 transition-age foster youth along the Gulf Coast with housing and wraparound support. This milestone was grounded in years of policy advocacy.