OAKLAND, Calif., May 17 /PRNewswire/ --

News Facts:

• The Stride Center today is hosting a VIP reception to celebrate the grand opening of its new administrative office and IT training center in Oakland, California.
• At a time when unemployment is at a high of 12.6 percent, innovative strategies to help members of the community build new job skills and proficiencies is crucial. As a result, the event will focus on ways the public and private sectors can create sustainable partnerships, resulting in new employment opportunities for Bay Area communities.
• Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley and David Crane, special advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for jobs and economics, will join major employers to welcome the Stride Center, one of the San Francisco Bay Area's last standing non-profit training organizations, to Oakland.
• Ms. O'Malley and Mr. Crane will offer their remarks about how collaboration and cooperation between businesses, non-profits and communities can lead to the creation of new jobs and the development of new employment opportunities for Bay Area communities.
• A representative from Congresswoman Barbara Lee's office will be attending.
• The Stride Center is a San Francisco Bay Area-based social venture and non-profit organization that empowers individuals and communities to achieve economic self-sufficiency. The organization has been serving vulnerable communities in The Bay Area for more than 10 years. Working with the Stride Center, corporations are able to acquire local, highly qualified IT talent while finding meaningful community re-investment opportunities.

Event Details:

• The VIP event will be held today, May 17, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at The Stride Center's new corporate and administrative headquarters at 1212 Broadway, Suite 400, in Oakland. Refreshments, including hearty hors d'oeuvres, will be served.

Supporting Quotes:

"The Stride Center is a great example of the intellectual, social and technical innovation for which the Bay Area and California is well known," said David Crane, special advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for jobs and economics. "When working together, there is no limit to what businesses, non-profit organizations and local governments can accomplish. On behalf of Governor Schwarzenegger, I applaud The Stride Center for being the bridge to jobs and a better economic future for a diverse population in Oakland and the greater Bay Area."

"We are thrilled to be able to offer increased access to IT training through our new Oakland location," said Stride Center Executive Director, Barrie Hathaway. "Partnering with Alameda County and Oakland businesses will allow The Stride Center to expand its capacity to deliver job training and development programs that our students would otherwise be unable to access. We look forward to serving the diverse communities of Oakland and its surrounding communities."

"The Grand Opening of the Stride Center in Oakland provides Chevron a great opportunity to build on the strong partnership between Chevron's Richmond Refinery and existing Stride Center programs," said David Feldman, senior specialist, in Chevron Corporation's Global Partnerships and Program division. "Our partnership with The Stride Center allows us to continue supporting programs in the Bay Area that provide critical career and technical training leading to employment and economic self-sufficiency."

About The Stride Center

Unlike other workforce development organizations, The Stride Center has created an eco-system for community engagement that builds a sustainable path out of poverty for low-income individuals while helping organizations meet their recruiting, diversity and corporate social responsibility objectives. By working with The Stride Center, companies can help to end poverty while hiring high quality IT workers. Companies can partner with the organization in a number of ways - through providing jobs and internships for graduates, offering computer and electronic equipment for refurbishing and use in training centers, donating capital and volunteering time. For more information, visit www.stridecenter.org or call 510-234-1300.

    Media Contact:
    Andrea Corry
    TopMind PR
    (925)640-5482
    andrea@topmindpr.com

SOURCE The Stride Center