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The
Brightest
Light in Edgewood
Terrace
Article
in Update
D.C. Agenda
Collaborating
for Washington's
Future
Spring/Summer
2001
Bold
crayon drawings
made by young
hands and
snapshots
framing ebullient
smiles bedeck
brightly painted
green and
blue walls.
Paperback
books, soft
and worn from
years of love
and handling,
cram wooden
shelves. Iguanas,
guinea pigs,
snakes and
lizards crouch
in glass boxes
awaiting the
arrival of
their caretakers.
In several
hours, approximately
75 children
will appear
to create
more art,
request help
with homework,
and feed their
exotic friends.
Beacon House
Community
Ministry Inc.
is a neighborhood-based
civic organization
that provides
at-risk children
and youth
with the support
and resources
necessary
to realize
their greatest
potential.
It nestles
within the
cityscape
of Northeast
DC's Edgewood
Terrace, creating
a haven of
community
for the residents
of a once-troubled
urban neighborhood.
THE
ORIGINS
"Before
I established
Beacon House,"
said Reverend
Donald E.
Robinson,
an ordained
Unitarian
Universalist
minister and
the organization's
founder, "this
complex was
an open air
drug market.
There was
no sense of
community
among residents.
Structures
were neglected
and dilapidated.
The children
had no place
to play. It
was not a
pretty place."
In the decade
since its
creation,
Beacon House
has created
a sense of
community
for residents
of Edgewood
Terrace and
the surrounding
area, and
has even inspired
residents
to fix the
problems that
once plagued
their troubled
neighborhood.
Robinson
established
Beacon House
in 1990 after
retiring early
from the DC
Youth Services
Administration,
where he worked
for 20 years
as a social
worker. He
resigned in
order to pursue
a Divinity
degree at
Howard University
and to reach
people's lives
in a more
direct and
profound manner.
Beacon House
evolved from
Robinson's
aspiration
to create
a community
ministry and
a desire among
the tenants
of Edgewood
Terrace for
a neighborhood-based
service to
support the
needs of its
residents,
especially
those of its
children and
youth. For
the first
seven years,
Robinson ran
the ministry's
programs out
of a vacant
four-bedroom
apartment.
Today,
thanks to
a multi-million
dollar renovation
by the Community
Preservation
and Development
Corporation,
a nonprofit
housing development
corporation
that bought
the complex
in 1995, Beacon
House operates
out of 6,000
square-foot
center within
Edgewood Terrace.
A multicolored
facade now
greets visitors
at the ministry;
inside, a
maze of activity
rooms offer
entertainment
and enrichment
to young neighbors.
ACADEMIC
AND PERSONAL
ENRICHMENT
Beacon
House serves
its young
constituents
in several
important
ways. It offers
academic support,
recreational
activities,
and mentoring
programs to
children and
youth from
ages 5-17.
Last year
it served
over 300 children
from Edgewood
Terrace and
the surrounding
neighborhood.
Among the
most popular
activities
are an after-school
study hall
and snack
program where
children can
receive academic
counseling
and nutritious
snacks. The
"Falcons,"
Beacon House's
intramural
basketball
and football
teams, offer
kids the opportunity
to compete
against teams
throughout
the city.
Another activity,
"People-Animals-Love,"
teaches kids
to care for
animals while
exploring
life concepts
such as birth
and death.
Also popular
are field
trips to local
museums, libraries,
and sporting
events that
are led by
volunteer
mentors. Recently,
a "Literacy
Lock-up"
hosted 65
kids for a
sleepover
that included
games and
entertainment
illustrating
the pleasure
and enrichment
of reading.
A
WEB OF SUPPORTS
Robinson
credits the
collaborative
nature of
Beacon House's
mentoring
programs as
the source
of their success.
In-house programs
such as Reading
Star, sponsored
by Georgetown
University,
and Project
Northstar,
which pairs
youth with
volunteer
tutors from
diverse racial
and cultural
backgrounds,
embody Beacon
House's commitment
to bridging
socio-economic
disparities
that have
simultaneously
isolated and
defined Edgewood
Terrace in
the past.
Wraparound
mentoring,
which gives
children the
opportunity
to establish
meaningful
bonds with
adult mentors
by extending
mentoring
beyond group
activities
to an individual
dynamic, draws
volunteers
from around
the Beltway,
many of whom
are a part
of Robinson’s
extended congregation
of Unitarian
Universalist
churches.
Beacon
House works
in partnership
with the Edgewood
Brookland
Healthy Family/Thriving
Community
Collaborative,
a family preservation
service that
draws on the
support of
the DC Child
and Family
Services Agency
and neighborhood
organizations.
While the
Collaborative
and Beacon
House maintain
distinct charters,
the Collaborative
provides assistance
in building
the capacity
of Beacon
House to enhance
its ability
to serve at-risk
children in
the community,
as well as
children in
the Collaborative.
THE
FUTURE
The
sustained
presence of
Beacon House
in Edgewood
Terrace for
over ten years
attests to
the success
of its outreach
activities.
Where disrepair
and neglect
once prevailed,
a cohesive
community
now thrives.
But there
are goals
still unattained.
Robinson dreams
of future
renovations
for Beacon
House, including
larger facilities
equipped with
multiple athletic
centers, classrooms,
computer labs,
music rooms,
space for
teenagers
to hold weekend
social functions
and kitchens
and gardens
where participants
can receive
vocational
training.
Until
then, there
are more immediate
needs to be
addressed.
There are
math problems
to be solved,
mentoring
sessions to
be hosted
and hungry
stomachs to
be filled.
Beacon House
will continue
to meet this
need while
providing
inspiration
and hope to
residents
of Edgewood
and Brookland.
For
additional
information
on Beacon
House Community
Ministry,
please contact
Rev. Donald
E. Robinson
or Stacey
Gold at (202)
529-7376.
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