For the past 4 years, Homies Empowerment has hosted a toy drive that continues to bring joy and unity to our neighborhood. This year, under the remarkable coordination of Mama Liz, our community and team came together to prepare over 600 tamales and chuchitos (Guatemalan tamales), ensuring every guest enjoyed a warm, delicious meal. We also sourced 400 conchas from a local baker, and the addition of hot chocolate made the gathering even sweeter.

During this year’s toy drive, 449 families came to pick out toys for their children and loved ones. The event brought together organizers and neighbors, not just to distribute toys but to embody the true spirit of collective support and solidarity. La Familia clinic was present, providing free flu shots, COVID vaccines, and testing, reminding us of the importance of health and community care. Children’s faces lit up with joy as they enjoyed free face painting, adding to the fun and beauty of the day.

This event was a true celebration, made possible by the collective efforts of the community, La Familia, the shared resources, and the incredible coordination of Mama Liz, along with the hard work of our volunteers and team, all coming together to bring joy to our neighborhood and kids.

A few words that were shared based on people's experience based on the Toy Drive were:
Mama Liz: "I am very grateful to each and every one of the people who helped us on this special day for Homies Empowerment!! It has been an unforgettable experience to have been one of the coordinators of that day, being able to see our community happy and enjoying the festivity fills me with joy!! Thank you so much"

Selena Gonzalez: "My heart was filled with joy and gratitude to be able to provide gifts to parents so that they could have something to share with their little ones."

Pictures taken by Lizette Perez (Instagram:themisslens)

That sums up our last TOWN NIGHTS of the year. We have been completely grateful to have had the chance to coordinate these past three TOWN NIGHTS. We are blessed to be able to have the opportunity to see all our community that came out to TOWN NIGHTS having a great time.

Thank you to everyone that took part in the Carnival and helped us create a beautiful, safe, and fun space for our community. A huge thank you goes to all the organizations, East Oakland Collective, Native American Health Center, La Familia, and Department of Violence Prevention that took part in making this event a success and helped us provide their services and resources. Overall thank you to everyone that took part in this carnival.

A few words that were shared from people's experiences from TOWN NIGHTS were:

​Community member: "There are times I have struggled from high blood pressure and due to that I was worried about coming in today because my legs often hurt. I decided to come in so my kids would not be bored at home. While being at the event today, since I was running back and forth playing games to try to get tickets to help my kids get prizes, I noticed that it took the pain away from my legs. I am glad I got to spend some time at TOWN NIGHTS with my kids and that I was pain free.”

Santiago PC: "Town Nights was awesome. We got to see people having a lot of fun and have some fun ourselves. From the amazing food to all of the games and the great music, it was all a great experience. As a volunteer I was able to see the other side and manage some stands and see people having fun learning a game or playing with friends and family. It's great that we have amazing events like this in the community for free."

Photos by Lizzette

We are completely grateful for all the blessings we have had these past two TOWN NIGHTS. We had 470 people registered and over 470 people that showed up. We had 300 burritos and 300 toys. We started giving our burritos at 7:00pm and they ran out in 45 minutes. Our toys ran out an hour before the event was over. We would like to thank all our community members that showed up these past two events and would like to invite you to our next TOWN NIGHTS which is in Arroyo Viejo park in Oakland at 6:00pm to 9:00pm on July 14th.

Thank you to everyone that took part in behind the scenes and everyone that stayed behind after the event to help clean up. A huge thank you to Lila Duran for coordinating these past two TOWN NIGHTS. Overall thank you to all our volunteers, staff, East Oakland Collective, Department of Violence Prevention, La Familia, and everyone who took part in this event. Another thank you to our brave leaders that decided to get dunk tank.

A few words that was shared from people's experiences from TOWN NIGHTS are:
Rosenity: "It was important that we held something like this. It's time to make safe healing sacred spaces for our community. Let's bridge the gap between community members and bring joy, love, and light."

Jazmin Preciado: "The last Homies Town Night was so fun! The turnout was high, the energy and music were great, there were smiles all around, and it was well organized. The dunk tank was a success. The hosting kept the excitement going and we had elders and youth represented, all being good sports. Loved it!"

Pictures taken by Lizette Perez

Another year of an Amazing TOWN NIGHTS. Community being able to come together and be able to get free prizes, food, and play carnival games. This beautiful event took part in Arroyo Viejo Park in Oakland. Our next two events are this Friday, June 30 and July 14. We hope to see you there!

We had over 355 people in attendance. We gave out 300 burritos. Our burritos ran out in 75 minutes. We are thankful for all the blessings we had through this event and want to say thank you to all the community that came out to TOWN NIGHTS.

Thank you to everyone that took part in the event and everyone that stayed after the event to help clean up. A huge thank you to Lila Duran for coordinating this event. Overall thank you to all our volunteers, staff, East Oakland Collective, Amigo Ayuda A Tu Amigo, Department of Violence Prevention, La Familia, and everyone who took part in making this event a success.

A few words that was shared from people's experiences from TOWN NIGHTS are:
Dr.Cesar Cruz: "It was really amazing to see people of all ages enjoying themselves. So empowering to see African Americans, Latinos and neighbors from East Oakland having a great time, together, we only had 300 meals and we gave those out in an hour. Close to 500 people came out and just had a good time together, that is a huge deal for us in our community. What a blessing!"

Lila Duran: "It was a stressful day, with everything happening behind the scenes. But seeing the kids smile and having a good time made it all worth it. Appreciate the LOVE the community showed Homies Empowerment, and each other."

Pictures taken by Lizette Perez

What an amazing Homies dinner! We had the most amazing, inspiring and phenomenal guests and panelists at the HOMIES Dinner last night focusing on how we can be the best ally and support Black Women and Black Girls against all forms of oppression including knowledge and awareness about trafficking black bodies! We are truly grateful for their presence, knowledge and wisdom!

A special thanks to our amazing panelists including Sister Barbara Howard (our moderator), Selena Wilson, Nola Brantley, Alice Karim, Mahlia Jones, Tarika Lewis, Khilynn Fowler and Council member Treva Reid! So much powerful women sharing and teaching us how to be in solidarity. We appreciated their offerings and it was a blessing to be present. 

Thank you sister Barbara Howard for hosting on your bday and for being willing to be vulnerable. Thank you Mahlia for speaking your truth and doing so in such a powerful way. Thank you to Jazzy and Rubi for helping set up the space in such a beautiful way. Thank you Jay and Diego for troubleshooting tech and creating this surround sound experience. Thank you Yolanda and Lila for going to pick up the food. Thank you Selena for going all over town to get a personal cake made. Thank you to Angelica, Lila, Don Adan, Jazzy and anyone else who served the people food. Thank you Selena G and Egypt for tabling. Thank you Rose for being so adaptive with dreams Arts & staying with three of the youth. Thank you Cristobal for being willing to do anything including throwing out the trash, thank you to everyone who threw out trash. Thank you Viviana & Rev for helping to hold space. Thank you Santa for coming and even coming with your family. Thank you Jay & Ava for filming. Thank you to Dr. Cruz for bringing the delicious plant based barbecue too! 

​There's more, thank u ALL. - Dr. Cesar Cruz