Beacons Celebrate on Civic Center Plaza
On October 10th, Beacons gathered on Civic Center Plaza to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Beacon Initiative and highlight Beacon programs through youth performances, demonstrations, and interactive learning stations. Over 500 youth from across San Francisco came to the festivities to participate in activities such as wrestling, painting, line dancing, drumming, and MORE! The event kicked off with a press conference on the steps of City Hall, where we heard from three leaders on the impact and importance of Beacons: Dante Calloway, a former Beacon youth and now Beacon staff; SFUSD Superintendent Richard Carranza; and the Mayor's Senior Advisor on Education and Family Services, Hydra Mendoza. After the press conference, lion dancers from the Richmond Village Beacon led participants across the street to the event. Performances followed from OMI/Excelsior Beacon, Western Addition Beacon, Bayview Beacon, and Richmond Village Beacon. Activities included:
- Richmond Village Beacon - Jr nurses health screenings
- California Academy of Sciences - Science Action Club
- Sunset Media Wave
- OMI/Excelsior Beacon - STEAM activities
- Western Addition Beacon - Healthy eating on a budget
- North Beach-Chinatown Beacon - bike-powered blender
- Beat the Streets SF - wrestling
- Mission Community Beacon - ukuleles
- Loco Bloco - drumming
- Visitacion Valley Beacon - arts & crafts
- North Beach-Chinatown Beacon - live art mural
- Western Addition Beacon - academic support strategies
- Richmond Village Beacon - Black Student Union and Latinos Unidos
- Bayview Beacon - cupcake decorating
- Bay Area Wilderness Training - camping demonstration
- Visitacion Valley Beacon - carnival games
In addition, we want to give a huge shout-out to our partners who provided support, volunteers, or ran booths:
- SF Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families
- PwC
- Coaching Corps
- One Degree
- Mission Graduates - College Connect Program