Bay Area

Jumpy House, Car Show and Good Food Mark Marin City Labor Day Celebration

Many people came out and enjoyed the Marin City Labor Day celebration, which was held on Monday, Sept. 2 on the grass of 100 Drake Ave. The celebration featured a a jumpy house for kids, food, music, and a car show.

Published

1 year ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

From top to bottom, left to right: Event planners Lulu and Antoinette, Annette Henry, Shannon Bynum, and Lamesha Bynum. Next row: Ain Ashby, Krystal Rose and Vincenzo Bezerra. Bottom: Melba Banks and Darrell Roary, car show with Dennett Colescott’s white 1966 Dodge Charger on the left. Photos by Godfrey Lee.

By Godfrey Lee

Antoinette and Lulu, who also organized the celebration event, gave out backpacks and school supplies. The Books and Blends table, manned by Krystal Rose and Vincenzo Bezerra, gave away donated books.

Annette Henry, Shannon and Lamesha Bynum manned the Marin County Cooperative Team (MCCT). They were collecting names for the Marin City email newsletter and was announcing the launch of the “Vision Project” — a holistic mentorship program for Marin City Transitional Age Youth, ages16 to 25.

The Vision Project, according to the flyer, involves mentorship from a non-parental adult who plays an important role in promoting healthy development for youth within a strengths-based, advocacy framework.

Mentees and mentors are provided a monthly stipend for active participation.

“Mentees have their own mentor who they meet with weekly one-on-one for at least 2 hours,” according to their FaceBook Page. “With their mentor’s support, mentees set goals within their Individual Development Plans (IDPs) to foster success within life skills, employment, education, mental health, healthcare, housing and other critical support/needs.”

MCCT also announced their drug overdose treatment training every Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Starbucks patio in the Gateway Shopping Center, 110 Donahue St. The training will help you learn the signs of a fentanyl overdose, train to reverse an overdose with Narcan®, and to get free Narcan® so you’re always prepared.

The food was good. Among the many food booths were: Ain Ashby who served her Torani-flavored lemonade, Lester and Diema who served their turkey legs that was large enough for leftovers, and Melba Banks, of Pieman Sweets, displaying her pies.

Tiffany Richards was displaying her purses for sale.

Close to two dozen classic cars were being displayed in the parking lot, three of them being the Oldsmobile Cutlass. One was a yellow, 1972 model owned by Darrell Roary. Dennett Colescot of San Rafael also displayed his car, a 1966 Dodge Charger.

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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

1 week 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.