Community Outreach

RCDA volunteers provide a free yearly Summer Enrichment Program for local students between 6 and 15 years of age. Topics that have been covered in past sessions include: Entrepreneurship, Robotics, Financial Matters, Travel (learning about the US and the World), African American History, Science and Social Studies, and Practical matters (sewing/mending clothes, carpentry, painting, changing door locks). Children between 16 and 22 years of age (most of whom previously participated in the program) serve as paid instructors for the younger students. Each year, participants practice speaking French and Spanish languages as well as employing American Sign Language. Program participants are provided with school supplies an the conclusion of the program with backpacks provided by a physician in California who is familiar with the program.

Annual giveaway of 48 bicycles to local elementary school children. We rotate donations to 3 of 9 schools each year and provide 2 bicycles per grade level (maximum 16 bicycles) for each school. Although this activity began by allowing the children to make wish lists, we found that most wanted bicycles. Therefore, for the past 10 years, we have only provided bicycles to the schools.

For 21 years, RCDA has sponsored a Juneteenth Celebration. This event recognizes the date (June19, 1865) on which slaves in the state of Texas were informed of their freedom, a full 18 months after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The event is free to the public, provides cultural, educational, health-related, and nutritional sessions as well as fun activities for kids (i.e., basketball tournament, dance, hula hoop, and watermelon eating contests, water slide, petting zoo, and board games). Additionally there is a classic car show for adults, and free food for all.

At least once a year, RCDA (in collaboration with the Morris Henry Carroll Scholarship) provide snacks to teachers at 21 local schools. Intermittently RCDA also provides teacher emergency packages containing typically used teacher resources to each of these 21 schools.