By Kathy Chouteau
On Dec. 18, the holiday elves at the Contra Costa Youth Service Bureau (CCYSB) will be doing what they do best: enriching the lives of local youth in the community.
While CCYSB’s work uplifts youth in myriad ways, that day they’ll be hosting the “Share the Joy” event for 230 students and faculty from Stege Elementary in Richmond. But to make the event a success, the nonprofit needs donations to support their holiday giving.
The Stege community has been displaced this year due to a school rebuild and the kids could use a lift. Donations to the nonprofit will help support Christmas stockings, candy canes, oranges, apples, socks, gloves, coloring books, movie passes, popcorn and toys for the kids, as well as food items in holiday bags. CCYSB has held the holiday event in various incarnations for years.
“We make sure that Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus come from the North Pole to be with our children and their families and staff,” said CCYSB Executive Director Marena Brown about the event.
Brown said the Contra Costa Youth Service Bureau began in 1984 with a small group of Richmond residents. “They were activists because of the crime rate that was going on in the city of Richmond, with Black young men falling prey to gun violence in the streets, and nothing was being done about that.”
Since then, the organization—which has offices in Richmond and Antioch—has been dedicated to empowering youth, families and communities through compassionate, culturally responsive support.
Youth-serving partnerships are at the heart of CCYSB’s mission. Recently, the organization held a fundraiser for Richmond Police Department Chief Bisa French’s scholarship, which supports youth entering Contra Costa College as they work toward law enforcement careers.
Other partnerships have included Braids by Tynesha Chase, who helped CCYSB participants receive beautiful box braids. And then there was the MLK Day of Service that the nonprofit partnered with Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church on to make blankets and art for locals in need. And also the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa County, with which they offered a free, 18-week parenting education and support program to the community.
From “Grab-and-Go” Pumpkin Fests to promoting reading, the list of partnerships goes on. During a recent visit to CCYSB’s office, a number of these large and small collaborations were spotted being remembered via framed posters on the walls at 186 Broadway in Richmond.
To be part of CCYSB latest collaboration with the Stege Elementary community this holiday season, donate here. Learn more about the nonprofit.
