From Our CEO, Kelly O’Lague

“I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself. ” – Maya Angelou

We are Hively! For the past year, we’ve been meeting with stakeholders, community members, staff and board to set our course for the future. It is such an exciting time as we merge two agencies to better serve our communities.

With the merger came the desire to rename ourselves to better describe and define who we are. As a mother I had the joy of naming three babies. As joy-filled as it was, it was also daunting! In the same way, coming up with a new name for our new merged organization was daunting! We had many, many meetings with all kinds of stakeholders, partners and friends. In every meeting, we focused on our mission which is to make sure that every child, every family in Alameda County has the resources they need to thrive.

One common theme emerged. To really thrive, kids and families must feel supported and cared for, They need to feel that they belong. For some reason, the image of a beehive kept coming up…not just any beehive, but one in which every bee was thriving. We tossed around all kinds of ideas…the Thriving Hive. Or the Lively Hive. Or even the Thrive Hive. Then, seemingly out of the blue, someone suggested Hively. We loved it!

Hively is the perfect combination of all the things we were looking for. It’s abstract enough that it allows us (even requires us) to tell people who we are and what it means. It’s friendly and engaging which is exactly how we want our agency to be. And, it is the perfect combination of words…Lively + Hive = Hively. A lively hive – a place filled with energy where people can feel a sense of belonging, a place where people can feel at home.

We hope you will be part of our hive. In fact, we invite you to be hively. Be that sense of community, be that place of belonging for others. Together, if we live the hively spirit, our communities will thrive.

Welcome to Hively!