Vision + Mission
Resilience. Strong community connections. Parenting and child-development knowledge. Financial security. Healthy, happy children.
These are the five success factors for healthy families — and they apply to every family. For those who live in a community that is resource-rich, such family success is easier to maintain. Income is just the half of it; the rest is easily taken for granted. Things like steady employment. Strong family and community ties. Great school districts. Plentiful venues for family fun. Professional resources — and the funds to secure them — when outside help is needed.
But, not all families in the East Bay Area enjoy these resources. While every community has its assets and challenges, some contain a mix of economic and social factors that persistently limit the health and wellness outcomes of their children.
It’s in these Alameda and Contra Costa County neighborhoods, centered around our centers in Oakland, Richmond, and Antioch, that Brighter Beginnings serves over 5,270 unduplicated individuals every year. We help them to identify their family challenges, recognize their strengths, and coach them as they construct a healthier, happier future for their children.
Our Mission + Vision
The Brighter Beginnings mission to “support healthy births and successful development of children by partnering with parents and helping to build strong communities”, gains its strength and aspiration from our core belief and vision:
Every family matters and every child deserves a happy, healthy future.
Our History
Brighter Beginnings is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that has been responding to the needs of families in resource-poor neighborhoods since 1984 when our work began in response to the alarming differences in mortality and illness rates among African American babies compared to other children.
As our holistic view of healthy families developed, so did the array of programs that help our clients cope with multiple personal, familial, and economic problems. We’ve also created a robust collaboration with like-minded agencies that give our client-families access to vital services such as healthcare, childcare, housing, education, job training, and temporary public benefits.
At this juncture, Brighter Beginnings has grown into a respected and well-connected organization with four locations in Oakland, Richmond, Bay Point, and Antioch. We’re blessed with a multi-cultural, bi-lingual staff of passionate and committed family-service professionals; in fact, many of our staff came to this work because of the challenges they faced in their own families.
We invite you to join us in our mission of helping all children, no matter what circumstances they are born into, enjoy the same chance at health and happiness that every child deserves.