OASES' mission is to empower students with limited resources through education, mentorship and service to strengthen the Oakland community. In 1983, a group of UC Berkeley undergraduates founded OASES to provide a critical safety net for youth living in Oakland’s Chinatown. These founders grew up in the same urban neighborhood and recognized its dangerous lack of positive resources for youth. In 1991, OASES became a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization