About Us
At the Richmond Village Beacon there is something for everyone! From Homework Help and DJ Classes for youth, to Ballroom Dance and ESL Classes for adults! The Beacon provides a place for people to connect, to learn from each other and to create a sense of community — a sense of community that is so hard to find sometimes on our own. Whether you’re a pre-teen looking for a free art class, a teenager looking for a job, or a grandparent looking for a place to share your experiences with others — no matter what your age, the Beacon is here to serve YOU. Please explore our website, I think you’ll definitely find something that interests you.
Thank you for checking out the Richmond Village Beacon!
The mission of the Richmond Village Beacon is to provide a safe, fun and supportive environment in the Richmond District for all youth and adults to explore and reach their full potential through youth development programming, supportive services, and adult enrichment activities in a school based setting. Programming is grounded in the principles of self-determination, acceptance of cultural and economic diversity, and a commitment to community building.
Program participants from our culturally and economically diverse community will feel confident and optimistic about all aspects of their lives, develop their own critical consciousness, recognize that they have choices, and be empowered to advocate for themselves within a safe and welcoming environment.
Michelle Cusano
Director
Richmond Village Beacon
(415) 750-8554
Mission Statement
The mission of the Richmond Village Beacon is to provide a safe, fun and supportive environment in the Richmond district for all youth and adults to explore and reach their full potential through youth development programming, supportive services, and adult enrichment activities in a school based setting. Programming is grounded in the principles of self-determination, cultural and economic diversity, and community building.
Vision Statement
Program participants from our culturally and economically diverse community will feel confident and optimistic about all aspects of their lives; develop critical consciousness; recognize that they have choices; and be empowered to advocate for access to societal benefits and resources within a safe and welcoming environment.
History & Overview
Founded in 1998, the Richmond Village Beacon (RVB) was established to fill the need for a safe, accessible and supportive youth and community center in the Richmond District of San Francisco, a culturally dynamic and socio-economically diverse community.
Richmond Village Beacon was formed by a planning collaboration of more than 20 individuals, community groups and agencies led by the Richmond District Neighborhood Center to create a shared vision of support for young people, to actively engage them in operating a Beacon Center and to provide young people access to a rich, coordinated array of services, supports and opportunities based on a youth development model.
With three sites at George Washington High School and Presidio Middle School and Theodore Roosevelt Middle School, RVB is a hub for wide-ranging services for youth as well as adults. Offerings for youth include after school tutoring, homework help, performing arts (breakdance, DJ, hip hop), multi-media arts and technology (animation, digital photography, video-making, website design), cartooning, zine-making, cooking, recreation, martial arts, and leadership programming, such as Beacon Teen Advisory Board, Black Student Union, Gay Straight Alliance, and Latino Club. Evening programs for adults include classes in computers, dance, office skills and parenting. RVB serves more than 1,200 youth and 300 adults, or more than 1,500 people each year. All services are free.
RVB is one of eight Beacon Centers in San Francisco under the umbrella of the San Francisco Beacon Initiative (www.sfbeacon.org). The Beacons receive core funding by the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their Families and additional leveraged funding from a host of private foundations and individual fundraising. The RV Beacon has been sponsored and operated since 1998 by the Richmond District Neighborhood Center, Inc. (www.rdnc.org)
