Foundation History

Y. Charles (Chet) Soda and Helen C. Soda                                                        founded the Y & H Soda Foundation in 1964.

Helen Soda was a devoted wife and community leader. Chet initially was a cement contractor who later invested in a variety of business and property ventures. He was an active Catholic layman (selected to become a Knight of Malta by the Vatican), a smart, aggressive businessman and dedicated husband. Chet and Helen were active in a variety of civic and philanthropic organizations and of special interest to the Sodas was the Salesian Boys Club in Richmond, California.

Chet and Helen also had a great interest in education with Helen serving as a Trustee at Holy Names University in Oakland, California and Chet as a Regent and Trustee at St. Mary’s College, Moraga, California. Chet also served as Chairman of the Advisory Board of California State University at Hayward, California.

Chet was one of the original co-owners of the Oakland Raiders football team. As President of the Board of Port Commissioners of the Port of Oakland, Mr. Soda played a significant part in developing the Port into the second largest container port in the United States. Mr. Soda also served as a commissioner on the Oakland Museum Board during the construction and development of the Museum. Following the deaths of Mrs. Soda in 1983 and Mr. Soda in 1989, formalized grant making commenced.