Giving Back
I donate a portion of my annual income to local organizations that serve populations and causes that I believe need our support.
Thank you - as past and future clients - for enabling me to lift up our community.
Also: Red Oak Realty, the brokerage I work within, has an AMAZING donation program called ROOF. We’ve given over $1,700,000 to local organizations over the years. And agents get to pitch and vote on which causes we believe in, at the end of every year. I love Red Oak! Click here to read about it,
Here are the organizations I have personally contributed to…
MISSSEY prevents sexual exploitation of girls and gender-expansive youth, supports those experiencing it to exit, and partners with survivors to heal, rebuild, and live free from harmful relationships.
Misssey
A note from Gail: When I owned a restaurant years ago, I was asked to serve on the City of Oakland Task Force for Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC). I served with humility and honor, and still consider it my responsibility to educate our community about the high numbers of children exploited in our very community, who need our help.
Charlie’s Acres provides a sanctuary for rescued farmed animals, fostering compassion and appreciation for these intelligent beings through education while empowering people to make kinder, more sustainable choices.
Charlie’s Acres
A note from Gail: I went vegan in 2020 - figuring while I was stuck at home due to the covid lockdown, it was as good a time as any to finally try to go vegan. I have been vegan ever since. Want a delicious recipe? I’m still a foodie, and follow some incredible vegan influencers!
Alameda County Court Appointed Special Advocates Program, (CASA) promotes and supports quality volunteer advocates to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the dependency court system.
CASA
A note from Gail: I was a Court-Appointed Special Advocate for a foster youth, in this program, many years ago. I volunteered my time to help her navigate school, her foster family, social workers, and even accompanied her to court hearings. Foster youth are set up to have really hard lives. I care hugely about people feeling loved - and that’s 10x when it comes to caring about kids feeling loved. To know that foster youth also deal with abandonment; to be moved from (often abusive) home to home during their short childhood; and the many bureaucrats and “systems” they need to interact with - it’s an inhumane way to start a life.
At Family Paths, we strengthen family relationships by providing mental health and supportive services with respect, integrity, compassion, and hope.
We empower families through compassionate, trauma-informed care, fostering resilience and safety for children by supporting parents and caregivers. Grounded in equity and inclusivity, we meet families where they are—24/7—to build stronger, healthier communities.
Family Paths
A note from Gail: This program helps families avoid abuse before it happens. I believe the best societies provide proactive support to their citizens, so that we don’t have to act on ineffective ways to express our pain and insecurity (financial, emotional, and otherwise).
The mission of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir is to inspire joy and unity among all people through Black gospel and spiritual music traditions.
Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir
Bike East Bay
Bike East Bay mobilizes by bike to build thriving communities that are joyful, safe, and inclusive.
A note from Gail: I was a bicycle commuter (with an electric bike!) for many years. Even though I don’t ride anymore, I believe that the best cities are VERY bicycle friendly, leading to streets that are both safer, and more engaging to their citizens.
A note from Gail: I joined the non-audition OIGC Community Choir a few years ago. It’s one of my favorite parts of my life. I love it so much that I was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for the whole organization. I joined the choir to sing, to harmonize, to feel song through an expressive form of music. But I quickly realized it’s so much more than that. The Director/Founder of the choir created it 40 years ago because he believes - with more than 23 religions represented across the singers - that it reflects the best version of society. All of us, singing together, learning about the origins of Black spirituals, and leaning on it to express love into the audience, and world. Sounds lofty, but it’s a pretty amazing feeling to experience it. Ask me about our next concert date!