To NAMI CC Members and Friends,
Memories were made and prayers were answered at our 2025 Crab Feed fundraiser on March 2, 2025, where guests feasted on fresh crab and enjoyed a great night of cheer, dancing, fun, and reunion while funding the greatest need in the county this year, the “Leave No One Behind” (LNOB) program in an effort to help the unsheltered who live with mental illness and sleep beneath the stars.
NAMI Contra Costa, a local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a nonprofit organization that provided education, support, outreach, and advocacy to individuals and their families living with or impacted by mental illness, delivered a night to remember with the biggest fundraiser of the year. The Crab Feed funded a place where individuals from all walks of life came into a shared safe space to come together, serving as a reminder of what was key: the healthcare of our loved ones who often found themselves unsheltered due to grappling with severe untreated behavioral health diagnoses. Proceeds from the Crab Feed fundraiser supported a range of programs, including education programs such as Family to Family and Basics, FaithNet, peer-run programs, and support groups.
At the highly anticipated event, which nearly sold out again, attendees enjoyed an all-you-can-eat feast of fresh crab, shrimp, pasta, Caesar salad, and bread rolls with all the fixings from Olde Towne Catering and complimentary sparkling water. The night was packed with excitement, featuring energetic professional auctioneer, Dave Aahl. The live auction offered over 35 donated items with bids on the vacation package, date night package, spa package, golf package, winery package, Joshua’s gift hiking package, and a surprise auction item—the signed Kittle jersey. Aahl also led a riveting heads and tails game where participants guessed the outcome of a coin and won a package if they guessed correctly all the way to the end.
The event was sponsored by a few larger companies, and hundreds of attendees sat comfortably at a table with all of their personal guests with an array of live entertainment throughout the evening, including host Dave Clark of KTVU-TV News, the Wayne Fettig Band, a drumming circle led by the Peaceful Warriors, and guest singing sensation January.
A special thank you to our volunteers who made the success of this event possible, from set up, check-in, to clean up, along with Staff and the Board of Directors who were involved. We could not forget our thanks to our fearless leaders, President La Tanyua Brown-Thompson and our CEO Gigi Crowder, who made this event happen. We thank everyone for participating and hope those who are not yet members of our humble affiliate become one through our website, namicontracosta.org/become-a-member.
Sponsors
A special “thank you” to our Sponsors this year, John Muir, eLease Returns, AssetMark, Crestwood Behavioral Health, and Dr. Mark and Judy Cohen.
All proceeds went towards NAMI CC programs and services.
