See what lotus bloom has been up to!

We are delighted to share highlights during this quarter. We are celebrating new promotions, special events and new resources in the community, saying farewell to a beloved board member, and sharing how we are engaging families in our programs. 

Give a warm welcome to our new Director  of Family Navigation!

​​We are excited to welcome Avita Behari into the Executive Team as our new Director of Family Navigation. Avita has a background as a Program Administrator at Lotus Bloom among other many skills that she has been able to implement into her work at our organization. Avita’s exceptional work, and major support for programs as well as her background of working with children, and other administrative work has helped the organization flow successfully in different departments.

Little Town Library comes to Room to Bloom!

On Thursday, March 31, 2022, our Room to Bloom site welcomed Ayesha Curry and the Eat. Learn. Play Foundation to install one of the Little Town Library. This new literacy initiative will construct and maintain 150 new Little Town Libraries in under-resourced areas of Oakland, meeting kids and families where they are, and encouraging neighborhood book sharing to develop children’s passion for reading. 

​Approximately 75 participants showed up to celebrate the event while Ayesha read, blew bubbles, and sang songs with over 20 families. Volunteers, board members and corporate partners like Workday came to support the event. As part of the literacy promotion, Eat. Learn. Play. will work with Lotus Bloom and other community partners to distribute more than 50,000 free books throughout the community to ensure Oakland kids can read anywhere and everywhere. 

Currently, only 15.4% of Black and 12.5% of Latino/a elementary school students are reading at grade level. We are committed to increasing literacy and closing this achievement gap. We would like to thank Ayesha Curry and the Eat. Learn. Play Foundation for this critical resource to close the literacy gap in Oakland.

Lotus Bloom’s First Community Celebration

Lotus Bloom's downtown site hosted its first community celebration right before program break on Friday, Mar 25. It was a huge success and was attended by 20+ Oakland families who truly reflect LB's multicultural and inclusive values. The event provided attendees with an opportunity to strengthen community bonds, play, eat and celebrate together. The staff and families surprised Kana Matsumoto, one of downtown's Family Navigators, with an unexpected birthday celebration. Participants were given goodie bags on the way out. It was a sweet day and the overall sentiments were joyful and grateful.

Than​k you for your services, Russell Williams!

After three years of serving on the Lotus Bloom Board of Directors, Russell will be retiring on April 15, 2022 and taking time to spend with his family. Russell has brought his expertise in Human Resources and helped lead the Executive and Human Resource Committee. We want to wholeheartedly thank Russell for his incredible years of service at Lotus Bloom.