| Last updated on February 7, 2006 |
The Richmond District Neighborhood Center nurtures a diverse urban community by developing and providing high quality youth, adult and family programs that address critical community needs, and foster respect for all people and our environment.
Description:
OVERVIEW
Richmond District Neighborhood Center
The Richmond District Neighborhood Center (RDNC) is a private nonprofit organization, which began in 1980 as a grassroots effort by community volunteers to transform a school site into a multi-purpose neighborhood center. RDNC's mission is to provide a place in the community where Richmond District neighbors can meet to enhance the quality of life for themselves and their community. To that end, RDNC supports two types of programs: 1) tenant programs, which lease space at the center (Self-Help for the Elderly, Cross-Cultural Family Center, Community Music Center) and provide services to over 400 children and adults; and 2) proprietary programs, which RDNC directly implements to meet critical needs in the community. RDNC-implemented programs include the Richmond District After School Collaborative, a high caliber after school program, which serves 300 youth at six public schools; the Multicultural Children's Arts Program, which provides artist-led Saturday workshops in diverse arts disciplines for 350 youth; and the Richmond Village Beacon, which provides academic, enrichment and leadership opportunities for 1,000 youth and adults at Washington High School and Presidio Middle School. RDNC has a long history of implementing quality programming. Recently, RDNC's after school program was one of only 11 programs in California to receive a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts' Creative Links Initiative. This initiative recognized exemplary programs that help young people "engage the arts to enhance their creativity, imagination and personal growth."
RDNC serves the Richmond District, which is 47% Asian/Pacific Islander, 4% African American, 5% Latino and 44% Caucasian. The Richmond's total population is approximately 91,000 (12% of San Francisco's total). Youth under the age of 17 comprise approximately 15% of the District's population; seniors (age 60 and older) comprise 20%; the remaining 65% are young adults and adults ages 18 to 59. The Richmond District provides 4% of total jobs and accounts for 2.6% of total gross receipts citywide.
In recent months the RDNC has experienced an increase in service needs. In the Richmond District After School Collaborative where we are able to serve 300 families in six public elementary schools, 60 families are on waiting lists for this valuable service. In addition, this high caliber, low cost program has seen an increase in the number of families coming in to request tuition assistance because of loss of job.
History:
The history of the Richmond District Neighborhood Center is a testimony to the power of successful community efforts. RDNC formed on June 18, 1980 as the result of determined grassroots efforts by neighbors and Richmond District residents to save a surplus school site from demolition. At that time, private developers laid plans to purchase the unique tree shaded site and its Spanish stucco styled buildings to erect 17 condominiums amidst the architectural unity of the surrounding neighborhood. Residents of the community came together, established a non-profit organization, and successfully secured a long-term lease from the property owner-- San Francisco Unified School District. Since that time RDNC has grown into a thriving multi-purpose, multi-ethnic community center.
Richmond District Neighborhood Center seeks to provide and maintain an affordable multi-purpose place in the community where our Richmond District neighbors can meet to enhance the quality of life for themselves and their community. RDNC is committed to the encouragement of cross-cultural and multi-ethnic understanding among neighbors of all ages, ethnicities, incomes and abilities.
RDNC's challenge is to foster a common sense of community in the midst of diversity. The Richmond District has been identified as a Neighborhood in Transition by the NIT-AMP organization. With a large influx of immigrants particularly from the nations of China and the former Soviet Union, cross-cultural understanding is more important than ever. As the neighborhood with the second largest number of children and one of the highest numbers of senior citizens in San Francisco, youth programs and intergenerational understanding are imperative. As a neighborhood with vast cultural and economic disparities, affordable opportunities to gain understanding across these myriad boundaries are greatly needed.
RDNC's strategy to meet these challenges consists of a broad and comprehensive approach to touch the entire community. The first of RDNC's own programs is the Richmond District After School Collaborative which provides an affordable sliding scale after school program that incorporates homework tutoring, poetry, visual art, music, and creative movement classes, recreation, team sports, nutritional snacks, family counselors, and youth employment at five neighborhood public schools. The second is the Children's Multi-Cultural Arts program which provides free art classes with a curriculum designed to cover dozens of arts traditions from around the globe culminating in an annual community wide Multi-Cultural Arts Fair to showcase these diverse artistic traditions. RDNC also functions as lead agency for the Richmond Village Beacon, at George Washington High School "a one stop shop" for social services, information, and youth programs. The Beacon also has after school programs at Presidio Middle School and Roosevelt Middle School, each serving over 200 youth per day.
In addition to such hands on programs, RDNC houses three tenant organizations whose individual expertise broaden the scope of RDNC's service capabilities. These include Cross Cultural Family Center's day care program serving ages 1-4, Community Music Center's sliding scale music lessons to all ages, and The Chinese American Voters Education Committee, committed to protecting the civic and political rights of Asian Americans.
RDNC touches more than 2000 families each week with these child care, recreational, educational and cultural programs. Together, RDNC provides the community a place and opportunity to connect, learn, and thrive.
Contact person: Patricia Kaussen, Executive Director, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (415) 751-5606
Address:
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741 30th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94121
(See a map) |
Web Site: http://www.rdnc.org
Directions:
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Nearest Bus Stop: 30th Avenue and Balboa, 5 minute walk |
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