Uncrowned Community Builders

Carol L. Evans, the oldest of five children, was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. Throughout the 60s, and early 70s, she worked as a fundraiser and was the co-founder of the largest and most successful funding program within her grassroots community.

She moved to Oakland, California in 1971 and was employed by Mills College in administration until retiring in 1994. She also received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Mills. During those years before retiring, she developed a love for community service. Ms. Evans became a substance abuse counselor for women, and also began honing her fundraising skills. Ms. Evans chaired many benefit and award ceremonies, attracting celebrities like Danny Glover and Terry McMillan.

She soon realized how much her heart was deeply rooted within her community, where she felt their everyday pain from the violence, constant degradation of communities and the loss of a generation of African-American youth. Ms. Evans envisioned a way to restore hope by focusing on ââ?¬Å?Good News.ââ?¬ She believed it is possible to increase respect and understanding through the production of a product. To produce, then distribute and consume would keep more of our dollars in our own communities.

Ms. Evans is founder of the award-winning calendar Positive Images of Oakland. This unprecedented project attracted TV interviews, numerous news articles, awards and two proclamations. This was a project developed by Ms. Evans in 1994, and implemented by her in 1996 until 2005; while residing in Oakland, California and working as a development associate.

Ms. Evans always intended for the project, Positive Images of Oakland, to be a major fundraiser and marketing tool for the sponsoring organizations. Many nonprofit organizations benefited from the success of the Calendar project. The project was underwritten (in part) by businesses and corporations. This was an exciting art production to acknowledge youth and young adults, for living a positive lifestyle, while attempting to combat the negative images of an urban city.

Ms. Evans believed this was the only decent souvenir that depicted the ââ?¬Ë?realââ?¬â?¢ Oakland ââ?¬â?? it made people smile. Family members mailed them all over the country for Christmas gifts. It was not ââ?¬Ë?justââ?¬â?¢ a calendar. It was about telling our community stories and then turning them into an economic development program.

In addition to publishing the annual Positive Images of Oakland Calendar, Ms. Evans also published three narratives: The award-winning Katrina: The Ghosts of 1865, Memories of Janet and The Calendar.

She now resides in her hometown of Indianapolis, IN, and still remains active in her community and senior organizations. She has one son, Derek DeWitt, and two living siblings, Sandra Keough and George Tate.