TVNPA Power of Giving Celebration 2023

The highly anticipated 3rd Annual Power of Giving Celebration: Salute to Impact Makers is taking place at the Bankhead Theater in Livermore on Wednesday, November 8, 2023!

Join us for an unforgettable evening as we bring together impact-makers from the Tri-Valley who are dedicated to making a positive difference in our community. We will celebrate the nonprofits awarded grants through the Tri-Valley Nonprofit Fund and the local philanthropists and volunteers who make the Tri-Valley such a special place.

This not-to-be-missed event promises to be uplifting! We are honored to have Dr. Dyrell Foster, President of Las Positas College, return as our esteemed emcee; Meredith McHenry will wow you with her artistic talent and enchanting performance; and keynote speaker Chris Helfrich, CEO of Eat.Learn.Play Foundation will motivate and inspire.

The highlight of the evening will be the grand finale awards presentation, when exceptional nonprofit and philanthropic leaders serving the Tri-Valley will be recognized for their outstanding contributions.

Thank you for your nomination submissions!

Emcee

Dr. Dyrell Foster has been an administrator in the California Community College system for over 20 years. He is a student-centered leader, with a proven track record of advancing educational access, equity, student retention and success. He is collaborative in his approach to implementing institutional practices, behaviors, and policies that provide a positive climate on campus and effectively addresses the diverse needs of students.

As President of Las Positas College, Dr. Foster is committed to providing strong leadership with a high degree of integrity, passion, and commitment to fully serving our students in a growing and supportive community. Dr. Foster is passionate about cultivating effective partnerships and promoting innovative approaches to enhancing student success outcomes for the students at Las Positas College.

Previously, Dr. Foster served as the Vice President of Student Services at Moreno Valley College; Dean of Student Affairs at Rio Hondo College; Associate Dean of Counseling and Director of Student Life at Mt. San Antonio College; Director of Student Life at Evergreen Valley College; and Activities Coordinator at San Jose State University. In addition, Dr. Foster has served as a part-time lecturer in the College of Education at both, California State University, Long Beach and California State University, Fullerton.

Being the first in his family to attend college, Dr. Foster received his Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Southern California, his Master of Science in Counseling: Student Development in Higher Education from California State University, Long Beach, and his Bachelor of Science in Applied Behavioral Science from the University of California, Davis, where he served as co-captain of the UC Davis Aggies football team. He and his wife, Tami, have two young children, Maylea and Daylen.

Guest Speaker

Chris Helfrich is a social entrepreneur and nonprofit leader committed to finding innovative solutions to community-based issues and problems.
Currently, Chris is President and CEO of Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation (ELP), which he helped launch in July 2019. With a mission to unleash the potential of every child, Eat. Learn. Play. is committed to improving the lives of kids and families in Oakland, the Bay Area and across the country. The organization supports children by fighting to end childhood hunger, ensuring students have access to a quality education and providing safe places for children to play and be active. To-date, Chris has expanded the foundation to include over 30+ community partnerships including Kaiser Permanente, Workday, Salesforce, World Central Kitchen and the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Additionally, he has played an instrumental role in facilitating the delivery of over 25 million meals to Oakland students and families struggling with food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to this, Chris served as CEO of the Starlight Children’s Foundation, the nation’s leading organization working to transform the hospital experience for millions of seriously and terminally ill children across the U.S. In this role, Chris oversaw the creation of two major, innovative programs which fueled Starlight’s success. First, Starlight Gowns, an effort to revolutionize children’s hospital gowns by replacing ugly, uncomfortable and embarrassing gowns with ones that are soft, comfortable, and a source of joy for the kids who wear them. Lucasfilm, Marvel, Major League Baseball and Disney are among the brands that have featured their iconic designs on almost 500,000 gowns that have been distributed to hospitalized kids since the beginning of 2017. Chris also spearheaded the creation of Starlight Virtual Reality, a groundbreaking new program built in collaboration with Google that brings the magic of virtual reality to hundreds of children’s hospitals across the country. The inspiring program makes it possible for kids to be virtually teleported out of the hospital to almost anywhere in the world – or beyond – they dream to go. Chris made a significant impact in his time as CEO with a nearly 400% growth in fundraising and program spending for the foundation.

Before joining Starlight, Chris worked for the United Nation Foundation, where he spent over five years leading Nothing But Nets, the world’s largest global, grassroots campaign to defeat malaria. During his tenure, the campaign delivered more than five million life-saving bed nets and other malaria interventions to families across 30 sub-Saharan African countries, and served as a leading global health advocate on Capitol Hill, reducing global malaria deaths by 60%. While leading Nothing But Nets, Chris recruited Stephen Curry to become an ambassador for the campaign, and the two traveled together to refugee camps in Tanzania in 2013 and the White House in 2014 in support of the fight to defeat malaria.

Chris is a graduate of Trinity University where he was named Young Alumnus of the Year in 2018. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Starlight Children’s Foundation and the Leadership Council for Classy. He currently resides in Lafayette with his wife, Kate, and three children.

Entertainer

Meredith has been performing professionally since 2011 when she unexpectedly landed an appearance on ABC’s short-lived attempt to jump into the singing show genre with the show “Karaoke Battle USA”. Though it only lasted one season, the ill-fated show aired to over 3 million people, and jump-started a long overdue transition back into music. These days Meredith is performing full-time at venues, and private events all over Northern CA.

Singing effortlessly through selections by artists varying from Etta James & Ella Fitzgerald, to TOOL & The Weeknd, Meredith & her network of truly talented, local musicians, have been entertaining audiences for 10+ years. Meredith & friends are known for their ability to recreate both well known classics, and under the radar gems with their unique stylistic blend of jazz, funk, blues, rock, folk, country & pop. Her original music stays true to this genre blending. With deeply personal songs that take audiences by the hand, and lead them through an equally diverse emotional palate with humor, vulnerability, passion, and authenticity.