About Our Programs: The Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center’s vision is to connect people in the Sunset to passion, potential, and community.

SNBC’s key programs include:

• Daily afterschool programs at five schools for more than 750 students
• Youth and adult computer classes in English and Chinese
• Digital arts and media programs
• Family support for parents and youth
• Recreation at the West Sunset Recreation Center
• Community-building events and activities

All programs and services offered by SNBC are free of charge.

SNBC is a program of Aspiranet, which offers a statewide network of services through a variety of creative community partnerships.

Lead Agency:
Aspiranet
400 Oyster Point Blvd, Suite 501
South San Francisco, CA 94080

School Site:
A.P. Giannini Middle School
3151 Ortega Street
San Francisco, CA 94122

School Site Contact:
Leslie Trook, Principal
Sean Yeung, Director of Afterschool Programs, syeung@snbc.org
Annie Ma, Afterschool Program Coordinator, ama@snbc.org

School Site:
Francis Scott Key Elementary School
1530 - 43rd Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94122

School Site Contact:
David Wong, Principal
Shawn Smith, Afterschool Program Coordinator, shsmith@snbc.org

School Site:
Sunset Elementary School
1920 - 41st Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94122

School Site Contact:
Sophie Lee, Principal
Alice Tam, Afterschool Program Coordinator, atam@snbc.org

School Site:
Ulloa Elementary School
2650 - 42nd Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94116

School Site Contact:
Carol Fong, Principal
Kyle Giocomo, Afterschool Program Coordinator, kgiocomo@snbc.org

Add one additional School Site:
School Site:
Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School
2051-34th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 941116

School Site Contact:
Kanani Choy, Principal
Meghann Hogan, Afterschool Program Coordinator, mhogan@snbc.org

Afterschool Programs

SNBC's afterschool programs include a variety of project-based learning activities supporting homework, language arts, creative arts, IT skill development and civic engagement. Afterschool Programs provide academic support and enrichment activities all of which are based on the principles of youth development and align with the California Department of Education’s Content Standards. 

SNBC’s program at A.P. Giannini features a study center, project-based learning activities, and recreation and enrichment.   Project-based learning “clubs” focused on creativity and career development encourage students to learn in a fun and interactive way. Classes include Newsletter and Movie Making, Cartoon and Anime, Urban Music, Mouse Squad, Peer Resources and Leadership, Urban Dance, and Flash Animation.

Currently, SNBC's Afterschool Programs engage more than 750 participants each day at one middle school and four elementary schools. Waiting lists at each site total more that 250 children and middle school youth. All programs are offered free of charge for these youth and their families.  For more information, please contact Sean Yeung, Director of Afterschool Programs, syeung@snbc.org.

West Sunset Rec Connect

Rec Connect, a partnership involving the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, the Department of Children, Youth and their Families, and non-profits like the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center, seeks to strengthen San Francisco rec centers as lively community hubs with new and improved programs for youth and their families.  SNBC offers free programs for children, youth, and adults at the West Sunset Rec Center.  Classes include Dancing by the Beach, Kid’s Web Design, Mini Meals, Steel Pan Drumming, Yoga for Toddlers, Kids, and their Families, Remote Control Cars, Sunset Green, and Youth Leadership Council.  For more information, please contact Ryan McCarthy, SNBC’s Rec Connect Program Director, rmccarthy@snbc.org.

Youth Technology Classes

SNBC’s storefront office hosts a Community Technology Center, where children and adults have access to state of the art computers and software.  For children not in our afterschool programs, SNBC offers Art Computers for Kids, Computer for Kids, and Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic each afternoon, Monday through Thursday.  For more information, please contact, Nathaniel Carter, Technology Coordinator, ncarter@snbc.org.

BAMboozled

BAMboozled is a program for high school-aged youth interested in writing.  Participants write articles, reviews, poems, and personal stories, all of which are hosted on the website, BAMboozled.org. Bamboozled is currently made up of 8 authors, 1 webmaster, 2 youth facilitators and an editor, who meet each week at the Beacon office.  Over the last 10 years, the Bamboozled authors have written over 300 articles, reviews, poems and personal stories and at one time our message boards held over 3000 posts from 350+ teens around the world.  For more information, contact BAMboozled at http://www.bamboozled.org/info/contact/.

S.C.R.E.A.M.

S.C.R.E.A.M., or Sunset Creators Reaching Every Able Mind, was created to offer an opportunity for high school students to learn and work with media production and receive stipends for completed projects.  Whether the films are for personal interest, entertainment, or for educational purposes, each member puts in many hours of dedication and hard work into S.C.R.E.A.M.  Students don't have to have prior filmmaking experience before joining S.C.R.E.A.M.- they simply have to want to give it a shot.  For more information, visit S.C.R.E.A.M.’s website, http://www.screamin.org/.

Urban Music Program

The Urban Music Program (UMP) serves youth in the A.P. Giannini afterschool program as well as the many alumni of the program.  UMP is dedicated to teaching and spreading a passion for music. UMP members spend their time DJ’ing, making beats, freestyling, playing loud instruments, doing field recordings, writing, recording, producing songs and performing unusual sonic experiments.  UMP has performed at San Francisco City Hall, Yerba Buena Center, the SF Zoo, Amoeba Music, Aquarius Records, Juvenile Hall and lots of great events. The DJ Club was featured in Scratch, an award-winning documentary film about the history of DJ culture and turntablism. To learn more, visit http://www.urbanmusicprogram.org.

School-Based Case Management

SNBC’s School-Based Case Manager collaborates with A.P. Giannini Middle School staff and Sunset Youth Services to work with students with special needs and provide them with support and prevention services. Clients referred to the program are high risk or at risk for truancy, academic struggles, behavioral issues, and are prone to getting caught up in the juvenile justice system. SNBC’s School-Based Case Manager serves as an adult role model and is a consistent, stable ally to the youth clients.  Services include probational support, weekly boys’ group, gang prevention, life skills, conflict mediation, service and program referrals, and lunchtime academic support.  For more information, please contact Raimol Cortado, SNBC’s School-Based Case Manager, rcortado@snbc.org.

FAMILY AND ADULT PROGRAMS

Evening Community Programs

SNBC offers a collection of diverse and dynamic community programs – some long-standing classes, and some new – that help to build community amongst the youth, adults, and families living in the Sunset District. This array of evening programming is being provided directly by SNBC or in partnership with other service providers.  All evening programs take place Monday through Friday at SNBC’s hub site, A.P. Giannini Middle School. SNBC strives to foster a warm atmosphere each evening at the A.P. Giannini program site with its free, high-quality programs that are accessible to all members of the Sunset community and meet their varied needs and interests.  Classes include Latin and Ballroom social dance classes, art and drawing classes, parenting classes in Chinese, English literacy and conversational English classes, expansion of SNBC’s Urban Music Program with new “alumni nights,” Chinese arts and crafts, beginning and Intermediate computer courses in Chinese, Bay Area Asian Sports League, Lion Dance classes, beginning and intermediate yoga, family movie night, and topical neighborhood forums.  For more information, please contact Maria Allocco, SNBC's Evening Program Coordinator, mallocco@snbc.org.

English Language Learner Programs

SNBC created programming to meet the needs and interests of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the Sunset District. These programs include Computer Classes in Chinese and ESL classes offered six days a week offered at SNBC’s storefront office, A.P. Giannini Middle School, Ulloa Elementary School, Francis Scott Key Elementary, and West Sunset Rec Connect. Additionally, SNBC staff facilitates Chinese language community forums such as the Taraval Police and Community Meeting in Chinese.  For more information, contact Megan Agee, Director of Community Programs, magee@snbc.org.

QWOCMAP

Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project offers 16-week digital video workshops covering major aspects of screenwriting, directing and video production, from conception of project idea to movie distribution. Through hands-on exercises, participants learn technical and creative filmmaking skills and become proficient in digital video production technique. The workshop culminates with short projects that are written, directed and edited by workshop participants. The California Arts Council sponsors a Filmmaker-in-Residence, Madeleine Lim, an Asian lesbian award-winning filmmaker with 15 years of film and video experience, to provide these free workshops in digital video production.

Experience Corps

Experience Corps Bay Area® is a unique intergenerational volunteer program hosted by the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center founded on the principle that the experience and talent of older adults are invaluable to youth. We offer adults 55 and older the opportunity to develop caring relationships with elementary and middle school students in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Rafael during and after school. Teams of Experience Corps volunteers tutor and mentor students, provide classroom assistance, and help out in after school programs. Additionally, volunteers often support youth in enrichment activities, creating art, reading books, or developing programs for children based on their own unique backgrounds and experiences. Through Experience Corps, children improve academic performance and build lasting relationships with caring volunteers, older adults experience enhanced physical and mental well-being, and Bay Area public schools become more caring and personal places, strengthening their ties with surrounding neighborhoods.

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Sunset Community Convener

The Sunset Community Convener at SNBC is part of the citywide Community Conveners Initiative, which is funded through the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF). The Sunset Community Convener at SNBC is devoted to convening, coordinating, and increasing family access to city departments and Sunset District services. The Sunset Community Convener works with the entire Sunset community to find creative methods to best serve the needs of children, youth, and families in the neighborhood. For more information, please contact Carol Mo, SNBC’s Sunset Community Convener, cmo@snbc.org.

Community Iniatives

Through its Community Initiatives, the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center (SNBC) collaborates with community members on projects that seek to build a stronger and more cohesive Sunset community. These collaborations are fundamental to fulfilling SNBC's mission and vision. Current projects include:

• sfSunset.org: Driven by community members, local merchants, and other stakeholders, SNBC is developing a Sunset-specific website. The website will serve as a one-stop shop for neighborhood and city resources, events postings, local business and merchant listings, as well as a place for residents to share their opinions, ideas, and information about themselves with the community.
• SNBC Annual BBQs: SNBC holds free, open-to-the-public BBQs twice a year, one in the spring and one for National Night Out in August. The BBQs feature free food and activities for families and children. Students in SNBC's Urban Music Program provide musical entertainment. Community organizations and city departments share resources and information at the BBQs.
• Annual SNBC Community Film Festival: Every year, SNBC holds the Community Film Festival to celebrate the diversity, creativity, and vision of the Sunset's filmmakers. The Festival features films made in SNBC's digital media programs, SCREAM and QWOCMAP, as well as flash-animation movies and films made in SNBC's Afterschool Program at A.P. Giannnini. Community members also contribute films to the Festival. Youth members of SCREAM curate the Film Festival and MC the event. The Film Festival is free and open to the public.
• Sunset District Monthly E-Calendar and SNBC Print Newsletter: In an effort to keep community members abreast of events, meetings, and opportunities in the Sunset, SNBC publishes a monthly e-calendar. Quarterly, SNBC prints a newsletter about our programs, activities, and events.
• Police and Community Meeting in Chinese: Quarterly meetings at the Taraval Police Station offer Chinese-speaking residents the opportunity to meet Chinese-speaking police officers and learn important neighborhood and safety information in their own language.

For more information, please contact Darrow VW, Community Initiatives Coordinator, darrow@snbc.org.