Bay Area

Breast Cancer Risk Drives Lifestyle Changes for Charlotte Maxwell Clinic Volunteer

In my role as a driver for the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic, I feel patients are super excited to have someone who is compassionate and empathetic. Sometimes we talk about recipes and sometimes we talk about their previous experiences not related to cancer and that’s great because it’s like having that driver be your ‘friend’ for the moment to take your mind off having treatments.

Published

4 years ago

November 5, 2021

Oakland Post

Michelle Meza has been a driver with CMC since 2017. Melbra Watts is the executive director.

PART III

By Michelle Meza with Melbra Watts

My son was going to college, and I was seeing my breast doctor and rambling on about my empty nest when she said ‘Why don’t you volunteer? You have time on your hands. Look into something you’re passionate about.’ I’d always volunteered and asked myself ‘what am I passionate about?’ And I realized it was staring me in the face—women’s health. I feel that my journey came full circle when I actually started to look for a place to volunteer.

I looked at multiple places here in the Bay Area, but I really loved the mission of the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic. What touched me was the story of how the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic came together. These women loved their friend so much that they rallied around her and were uplifting her to have the best treatments that they could possibly give her, and she was doing the same thing looking at research of what she could do to have a better quality of life and treatment and healing. That struck as a personal note to me; it touched my heart. Unfortunately, she did pass away but it was such a special story.”

Visiting the clinic, you instantly feel welcomed, loved, accepted. You’re not looked at any different from the color of your skin or your economic situation. Just, ‘we’re here to help.’”

I didn’t choose to become a driver; it was given to me.

Maybe that person is having a bad day. I try to put myself in their shoes—if somebody were picking me up, what would I like somebody to do for me? ‘Would you like me to put some music on for you or would you like me to put the heated seat or AC on?’ And even if they don’t feel like talking, that’s totally fine. Perhaps they need a moment of silence, and this is for them to have their peace and get ready to have their treatment. I’ve always tried to make the patients feel welcome and as if they were a friend or family member.

I’m super passionate about working in the nonprofit world helping women any way possible. Being underprivileged and a woman of color is hard enough and to have health situations on top of that is even harder.

Charlotte Maxwell is a beacon for women who are going through their cancer journey, and that’s what drove me to volunteering with the clinic and that’s why I’m still there. I believe in the Clinic and think that somehow an endowment needs to come their way. The Clinic is a diamond in the rough; it’s helped so many women.

For the past 30 years, Charlotte Maxwell Clinic (CMC), the Oakland-based nonprofit women’s clinic, has been supplementing Bay Area low-income women’s standard cancer care with complementary therapies free of charge—including acupuncture, herbs, homeopathy, massage, guided imagery, movement, nutrition advice, and self-care education.

These services are made possible by a network of dedicated volunteers that include practitioners of holistic modalities, language interpreters, and drivers who use their own vehicles to transport clients to and from their CMC appointments.

Michelle Meza has been a driver with CMC since 2017. Melbra Watts is the executive director.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

4 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.