"We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future"
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
Transform Lives Today
Every dollar you donate helps empower Oakland’s youth through paid internships, mentorship programs, and a safe community to grow and thrive.
How Your Support Changes Lives
Mentorship Programs
Connecting youth with life-changing guidance to unlock their full potential.
Paid Internships
Equipping students with confidence and career skills through meaningful work experiences.
Community Building
Providing a safe, welcoming environment where students can grow and belong.
Testimonials
Ciarra Participant
Marcel Participant
Matthew Board Member/ Volunteer
I am a Board Member here at Catalyst youth Network. I am inspired every time I engage or hear about the work being done by our team. Beyond my board duties I have had the pleasure of volunteering and working directly with students, meeting and discussing careers and jobs with our youth during the Career Conference and at the Youth Center.
However, my participation as a mentor/coach the past two years has been most meaningful. It is energizing and even emotional to listen and hear a mentee share his/her dreams and career aspirations.
The details in the youth’s personal mission statement, vision, and objectives clearly demonstrate a drive and indicate seriousness, thoughtfulness, and perseverance to forge through obstacles. I have genuinely enjoyed the amazing insights and questions presented by the mentee. If you want to be encouraged about the future, jump in and become a mentor.
Caitlin Advisory Board Member/ Volunteer
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of joining the Advisory Board of Catalyst Youth Network. CYN is a startup nonprofit in Oakland with the mission of empowering young leaders through an internship program and by providing a place of belonging with an after school youth center. I was drawn in by the passion of CYN’s founder, and I saw an opportunity to support underserved youth in my city.
I know from personal experience what an impact a mentor or advocate can have on a teenager; someone who sees the potential and value in them that they may not yet recognize in themselves. This is at the core of the CYN program. The opportunity to have a paid internship and develop professional skills and be matched with a mentor can be life changing for the teenagers in CYN’s programs. And the fact that so many grads of the program come back to help the next group of students coming through is very telling.
My involvement with CYN this year has ranged from hosting a fundraiser to helping with a budget and tax return to speaking with a group learning about entrepreneurship about the role of a budget as part of their business plan. I think I even made that last part fun…maybe. Most impactful for me personally was attending the end of summer internship celebration. The interns spoke about their experiences and what they learned, and they showed up with enthusiasm and poise. Hearing first hand about the impact of the internships really helped me see the tangible impact of CYN.
Donna Board Member/ Volunteer
At Catalyst Youth Network, I've witnessed firsthand the transformative power of youth mentorship. Our program, which serves teens in the heart of Oakland, has become a beacon of hope and opportunity for countless young lives.
What strikes me most about Catalyst Youth Network is the resilience and determination of the teens we work with.
Despite facing numerous challenges, these young individuals approach their futures with a mix of pragmatism and unbridled optimism that never fails to inspire me.
Lucy Advisory Board Member/ Volunteer
I grew up in China and came to the U.S. 30 years ago to pursue a Master’s Degree at UCLA.
Over the past three decades, I’ve worked across various industries, including consulting, engineering, healthcare, finance, FinTech, and renewable energy. I rose to the role of risk executive, specializing in quantitative analysis.
My passion? Mentoring and coaching individuals to excel in their careers and lead fulfilling lives. In fact, I published my first book, Build Resilience, which has won four book awards. Writing every day is my way of inspiring others to achieve success.
As a mother of three and a daughter, I support both my family and my community with love and gratitude. I feel privileged to have had access to education, opportunities, and a fulfilling career, and I believe in using that privilege to give back—to the API community, immigrants, women, and especially youth. That’s why, for the past two years, I’ve been serving on the Advisory Board of Catalyst Youth Network, a nonprofit in Oakland that empowers disadvantaged youth.
In addition to leading the communication committee, I’m a mentor, guiding young people to reach their potential at Catalyst Youth Network. Mentoring youth is close to my heart. There’s nothing more rewarding than working with young people and watching them grow into their potential.
Marion Board Member/ Volunteer
I’ve been a member of the Catalyst Youth Network Board for over 3 years. I live in Oakland and am very inspired by the work that Catalyst does with Oakland youth. Leveling opportunities for Oakland HS students through school programs, an after school youth center, career fairs and internships is an amazing mission. Also inspiring is the number of students who have gone through the program who return to help the following generation of students. They believe in the program and understand that giving back is a privilege.
I’ve personally worked with a number of students in the program, mentoring, teaching and putting together a career fair. It’s wonderful to see the students seek out programs and people to aid them with job searches and careers after high school, which is not an easy thing to do, and certainly not what I was doing as a high school student.
2024 was our first career fair, and we had a very diverse group of companies and organizations come to present to the students; government, aeronautics, retail stores, logistics, law firms and banking. We offered the students help with resumes and interview practice. I worked at the interview practice table and met a student who seemed untethered and bored. He said he’d only come to the career fair because he had nothing better to do with a Saturday. I felt like there was more going on under the surface – he struck me as a kid who didn’t have a lot of friends, and not much purpose. I encouraged him to participate in our other programs; coming to the youth center, applying for an internship. I tracked him through the morning, watching him interact with the student participants and the adults at the tables. Later that day, he won the biggest raffle prize, and I was pleased to see him sign up for CYN’s internship program. I don’t personally know this student, but I know students like him and hope that CYN made a difference in his life.
Jonathon Partner/ Educator
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