About Us

Volunteer

To support Chinatown Beacon Center by donating your time and volunteering with one of our annual events or programs, please contact our Program Support Administrator at (415) 983-9510 ext. 301 or by clicking here to send an e-mail.

To find out more about our volunteer opportunities, click here.

The Chinatown Beacon Center

Established in 1996, the Chinatown Beacon Center is a school-based community center where children, youth, and adults participate in programs, activities, and community events during non-school hours. The Chinatown Beacon Center runs programs at five neighborhood elementary schools and other locations in the community, including its host site, Gordon J. Lau Elementary School. Chinatown Beacon Center programs are based on a youth development model which includes programming in the subjects of youth leadership, arts and recreation, academic enrichment, career development, and health, and fulfill the agency’s mission statement: to strengthen the community one person at a time by unleashing the power of youth and improving the lives of families.

The Chinatown Beacon Center is one of the eight neighborhood-based Beacon Centers forming the San Francisco Beacon Initiative (SFBI). Across San Francisco, the Beacon Centers create safe community centers within public school buildings, partnering with schools and community agencies. For the first seven years, the Chinatown Beacon Center’s lead agency was Wu Yee Children’s Services; Chinatown Beacon Center is now partnered with Community Educational Services. Chinatown Beacon Center is funded by the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families (DCYF), the SF Arts Commission, the Major’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ), private foundations *, and corporate foundations**, in collaboration with the San Francisco Unified School District. In addition, the Chinatown Beacon Center partners with community members, local non-profit organizations, and city departments.

]]> *Private
David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
Silver Giving Foundation
San Francisco Foundation
W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Fund
Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund
Walter and Elise Haas Fund
United Way
Sales Force

**Corporate
Wild Planet

Our History

The Chinatown Beacon Center was born from the roots of community collaboration. In the Spring of 1990, six agencies came together and formed the Chinatown Consortium for a Children, Youth and Family Center (CCCYFC). This was a collaborative of community agencies seeking expanded and improved facilities in Chinatown. This network also broadened its agenda to explore how they could best provide coordinated services to the Chinatown children, youth and families, through a single, multi-generational center.

These community agency leaders continued to meet to discuss ways of working together to provide comprehensive services for the immigrant, low-income, limited-English speaking families in Chinatown. In 1996, the efforts became focused on developeing a Beacon Center in Chinatown and a larger group of community stakeholders were involved in the planning process. This group included agency leaders, school principals, residents, youth and other community members. The Chinatown Beacon Center partnered with the San Francisco Beacon Initiative and launched in 1996.

]]> Everyone involved with the The Chinatown Beacon Center continues to create and shape its history. Please read and add to the comments below to learn more about and share in our story.

The Chinatown Beacon Center Website Workshop interviewed a few individuals who were influential in establishing a Beacon Center in San Francisco Chinatown. Here are some of the things that they learned.

I learned that Chinatown Beacon Center is call pui gun. pui means (nurish) nurture and gun mean root in Chinese. The idea of Beacon Centers came from New York to use high school and middle schools as the location of after school programs. CBC started in 1996 at Jean Parker Elementary School for youth and adults. One challenge was figuring out what workshops to offer.

by Michelle Tan, age 13

I learned that Chinatown Beacon Center is called Beacon because the center keeps lights on in schools guiding people toward a place to go after school and not on the streets. The Chinese name for Chinatown Beacon Center is poiu gun and it means nurture roots.
I learned that the Beacon colors are red and green because red in Chinese is lucky and the two colors are from the Chinatown lantern. Chinatown Beacon’s mascot is a lantern because you could see it at the entrance of Chinatown and it also symbolizes guidance.

I learned that the Beacon Centers first started in New York, Boston and was later brought to San Francisco by Linda Asato. Beacon Centers were planned to be in middle and high schools, but there weren’t any middle or high schools in Chinatown. Beacon Centers are located in schools because usually after school, the school will be empty and not being used.

I learned that the Chinatown Beacon Center didn’t have that many resources to turn to when they started Chinatown Beacon Center. I learned that using elementary school space is very hard because if you move a little thing the students and teachers may complain.

I learned that Beacon Centers are places where students can go after school and also a place where all kinds of people could gather and learn from each other.

by Cindy Du, age 13

Contact Information

Administrative Office
36 Waverly Place, #1
San Francisco, CA 94108
Phone (415) 983-9510
Fax (415) 983-9514

Program Site
80 Fresno Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
Phone (415) 982-0615
Fax (415) 434-3128

http://www.chinatownbeacon.org
http://www.cessf.org

Become a volunteer:
click here to send an e-mail to our Program Support Administrator

Make a donation:
click here to send an e-mail to our Development Director

Contact the staff:

Aaron Gresens
Program Coordinator
Sherman Elementary School
e-mail aaron at chinatownbeacon dot org
phone (415) 982-0615 ext. 15

Aimee Vicencio
Technology Integration Coordinator
e-mail aimee at chinatownbeacon dot org
phone (415) 982-0615 ext. 20

Ben Wong
Director
e-mail ben at chinatownbeacon dot org
phone (415) 982-0615 ext. 23

Erin Gardner
AmeriCorps Member
e-mail erin at chinatownbeacon dot org
phone (415) 983-9510 ext. 309

Jae Pasadas
Youth Program Coordinator
Spring Valley Elementary School
e-mail jae at chinatownbeacon dot org
phone (415) 982-0615 ext. 13

Jenny Arcilla-Gonzalez
After School Learning Program Site Coordinator
Gordon J. Lau Elementary School
e-mail jenny at chinatownbeacon dot org
phone (415) 983-9510 ext. 316

Johanna Chiong-Masis
After School Community Enrichment Site Coordinator
Jean Parker Elementary School
e-mail johanna at chinatownbeacon dot org
phone (415) 982-0615 ext. 15

Kathleen Ruffle
Program Manager
Gordon J. Lau Elementary School
e-mail kathleen at chinatownbeacon dot org
phone (415) 983-9510 ext.311

Kelvin Chin
AmeriCorps Member
e-mail kelvin at chinatownbeacon dot org
phone (415) 983-9510 ext. 307

Kiyomi Noguchi
Program Coordinator
e-mail kiyomi at chinatownbeacon dot org
phone (415) 9820615 ext. 22

Rui Bing Zheng
Program Support Administrator
e-mail ruibing at chinatownbeacon dot org
phone (415) 983-9510 ext. 301

Young Kim
After School Community Enrichment Site Coordinator
John Yehall Chin Elementary School
e-mail young at chinatownbeacon dot org
phone (415) 982-0615 ext. 13

Donate

Your donation to CES has a direct impact on the sustainablility of all Community Educational Services, Chinatown Beacon Center, and Francisco Connection programming. If you have any questions about this or to make a donation, please contact our Development Director at (415) 983-9510 ext. 312. or by clicking here to send an e-mail.

Site Information

Administrative Office
Administrative Office
36 Waverly Place Suite, #1 (between Clay St. and Sacramento St.)
San Francisco, CA 94108

Program Site
Program Site
80 Fresno Street (between Columbus Ave. and Rowland St.)
San Francisco, CA 94108

Host Site
Gordon J. Lau Elementary School
950 Clay Street (between Stockton St. and Powell St.)
San Francisco, CA 94108-1521

After School Community Enrichment Sites
Spring Valley Elementary School
1451 Jackson Street (between Hyde St. and Larkin St.)
San Francisco, CA 94109-3115
Phone (415) 749-3636
Fax (415) 749-3555
Principal Lonnie Chin

Sherman Elementary School
1651 Union Street (between Gough St. and Franklin St.)
San Francisco, CA 94123-4506
Phone (415) 749-3630
Fax (415) 749-3433
Principal Phyllis Matsuno

John Yehall Chin Elementary School
350 Broadway Street (between Sansome St. and Osgood Pl.)
San Francisco, CA 94133
Phone (415) 291-7946
Fax (415) 291-7943
Principal Allen Lee

Jean Parker Elementary School
840 Broadway Street (between Powell St. and Mason St.)
San Francisco, CA 94133
Phone (415) 291-7990
Fax (415) 2917996
Principal Janet Dong

Funders/Partners

The Chinatown Beacon Center is funded by the following public, private, and corporate funders.

Public
Department of Children Youth and Families
SF Arts Commission
San Francisco Unified School District
Major’s Office of Criminal Justice

Private
David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
Silver Giving Foundation
San Francisco Foundation
W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Fund
Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund
Walter and Elise Haas Fund
United Way
Sales Force Foundation

Corporate
Wild Planet Toys

Mission Vision and Values

Mission
The Advisory Council and staff of the Chinatwon Beacon Center adopted the following mission statement, which state the primary purpose of the organization:

The mission of the Chinatown Beacon Center is to strengthen our community one person at a time by unleashing the power of youth and improving the lives of families.

Vision
The following vision statement was developed by the Advisory Council and staff of the Chinatown Beacon Center:

Chinatown Beacon Center envisions a dynamic community that:
• Has healthy young people and families
• Supports individuals to reach their full potential
• Is confident, accepting, and evolving

Values
The following values statement describes the core values and principles that guide the work of the Chinatown Beacon Center:

The Chinatown Beacon Center believes in:
• School and community collaboration
• Cultural sensitivity and respect of diversity
• Peoples’ passion and hope
• Community enrichment and pride

The Chinatown Beacon Center

Established in 1996, the Chinatown Beacon Center located at Gordon J. Lau Elementary School has been strengthening its community one person at a time by unleashing the power of youth and improving the lives of families. The Chinatown Beacon Center is a community center where children, youth, and adults participate in programs, activities, and community events during non-school hours. Its programs are based on a youth development model which promotes youth leadership, arts and recreation, academic enrichment, career development, and health.

The Chinatown Beacon Center is one of the eight neighborhood-based Beacon Centers forming the San Francisco Beacon Initiative (SFBI). Across San Francisco, the Beacon Centers create safe community centers within public school buildings. The Chinatown Beacon Center is funded by the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families (DCYF), the SF Arts Commission, the Major’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ), private foundations *, and corporate foundations**, in collaboration with the San Francisco Unified School District. In addition, the Chinatown Beacon Center partners with community members, local non-profit organizations, and city departments.

**Corporate
Wild Planet