2025 YEAR-END UPDATE

The Olden Bears had a roaring-good year!  

We have integrated three new members.  The new members are: 

Eric Eisenman, Bess Gurman and  Larry Baer  

We enjoyed an afternoon series of meetings at Berkeley and met with the new Dean of the School of Journalism, Michael Bolden, and Professor John Matsui, the Director and Co-Founder of the Biology Scholars Program (BSP) and five of his outstanding students in the BSP.  BSP developed as a mentoring and student development program. Today, more than 3500 undergraduates from low-income, first-to-college, and minority and ethnic backgrounds have participated in BSP.  I am proud that the Olden Bears provided this outstanding and deserving program with a $95,000 gift.  We also met with Elizabeth Friedman Branoff, the executive Director for Development of the UCB Library.  She spoke to us about the need to preserve the priceless library collections.  We visited the Basic Needs Center, including the Food Bank, located in the MLK Jr Student Union.  Since that visit the Olden Bears continued to support the Basic Needs with gifts totaling more than $56,000.

In May of 2025 the Olden Bears sponsored the Golden Buddies program. Six Olden Bear members volunteered their time at this great event. In 2024, 100 youth participated in the Golden Buddies Program and this year over 150 attended. The Golden Buddies Program is a collaborative initiative involving Cal football players, the Cameron Institute, the Special Olympics of Northern California, and Exceptional Sports (e-sports). The free clinic allows students ages 6-13, some with disabilities, to participate in a day of football drills and sports education at identified and fully staffed stations. Participants had the chance to connect with Golden Bear football players, who ran drill stations, encouraging the young athletes along the way. The Clinic empowers youth through sports while providing a fun, supportive environment.

We all hope that 2026 will be another inspiring year guided by many of the Olden Bears’  gifts and generous contributions to the University of California.Help us raise awareness of our mission and programs by sharing our website, social media pages, and events with your friends, family, and colleagues.