North Richmond
North Richmond is one of the poorest, most distressed, and isolated neighborhoods in Northern California.
The Cowell Foundation first became involved in North Richmond in 1994 when we helped fund the development of a Family Resource Center. In the years since, Cowell has made 33 additional grants and invested a total of more than $3.6 million in the community.
North Richmond has received Cowell’s ongoing support in large part because of the way residents, public and nonprofit agencies and the schools have mobilized to make the community a better place for families to raise their children.
As a result of long-term and coordinated efforts, progress has been made in North Richmond.
Cowell’s support has included:
- A Family Resource Center that builds on family strengths and responds to the needs and desires of the surrounding communities
- The North Richmond Revitalization Project that enabled the Family Resource Center, a local health center, senior housing, and the Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond to exist in one central place
- A parent involvement program that increased attendance at the local Verde Elementary and supported major gains in student performance as well as half as many disruptive incidents in classrooms
- The launch of a parent involvement program at Walter T. Helms Middle School to sustain the progress made at Verde Elementary School
- Continuation of after-school youth sports, the addition of comprehensive after-school and summer camping programs for elementary and middle school students, and programs to ease the transition from elementary to middle and middle to high school
- An increase in affordable homes
|
|
As part of the overall effort to create lasting change in North Richmond, Cowell has also awarded responsive grants in support of leadership development and technical training programs for community and agency leaders.
