Oftentimes, personal goals requiring more education or individual support can seem far out of reach, especially when resources are either unavailable or unknown.

However, many non-profit organizations are developed in hopes to reach those who may not have resources. 

Dome of Hope, organized and founded in the summer of 1997 by President Gwendolyn Dailey, is a Stockton non-profit that teaches independence and interdependence through a program called E.T.T.A (Education, Technology, Trade and Arts), an acronym based on the name of the founder’s mother, Mrs. Etta Mae Ford, who was a community advocate and resource for Stockton residents. 

This non-profit reaches all ethnicities, ages, genders, and socioeconomic statuses and offers a multitude of classes and resources to execute their vision of transforming individuals and communities to create a cohesive and sustainable environment. 

The organization’s initial mission was to serve the residents of Southeast Stockton with education, financial literacy, community resources, empowerment and to simply provide help to those in need within their community. ETTA gained traction and allowed for reconstruction and expansion to reach more of the population within the larger San Joaquin Valley. 

Currently, ETTA provides mobile, in-home tutorial programs for 5th-to-8th-graders from non-traditional homes, college readiness programs, adult basic literacy courses, and an employment development division. 

Dome of Hope has two locations in Stockton. The headquarters and main source of community support and education comes from ETTA’s Collaborative Learning Center located at 914 N. Center St., Stockton, CA 95202. The second location, at 2410 S. Airport Way, serves Southeast Stockton and beyond. For more information, please e-mail them at info@domeofhope.org or by phone at 209-271-1288.

Christy Price

Posts by Christy Price