It's been a big month for the East Bay. Just this week, Russian billionaire Yuri Milner gave $100 million to UC Berkeley to search the galaxies for alien life, and now an anonymous donor has parted with $34 million to aide Oakland's underprivileged citizens. 

The anonymous phone call was made to the San Francisco Foundation in February, but just announced to the public last week. 

"We have never gotten a phone call like that in the past," Fred Blackwell, CEO of the SF Foundation, told Inside Bay Area. 

While Oakland has undergone a renaissance of sorts over the past few years, there are still huge disparities across the city, with much work to be done in such underserved neighborhoods as deep East Oakland and West Oakland. 

The dollars will be invested in jobs, housing, education and healthcare across Oakland, with a full $6 million to support Oakland's public schools and early childhood education, African-American student achievement, and the hiring of new community coordinators.

About one-third of the funds are earmarked specifically for nonprofits serving East Oakland, including the East Oakland Youth Development Center, which serves as a safe refuge for kids. Another portion of the money is designated for technology programs like Oakland Codes, which received $4 million.

Money was also given to support community re-entry programs for ex-cons and other housing initiatives.

The SF Foundation estimates that the grant will directly result in the creation of 813 new jobs and 136 new affordable housing units in those neighborhoods. 

All in all, it was a good week for The Town.