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Renard Monroe provides stability, education and fun for children through his after-school academic enrichment program.
Monroe, 50, has long been a part of the community through volunteering with Pilgrim Community Center’s Weed and Seed program to advocating for issues that impact the Ocean View-Merced Heights-Ingleside neighborhoods, such as city budget cuts or rebuilding the Ocean View Branch Library. He prides himself on always being a helping hand.
In 1998, then-San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown recognized Monroe’s ambition and encouraged him to do more. In 1999, Monroe did just that and opened the after-school program Youth 1st in Merced Heights.
“At the end of my tenure here, whenever that day comes, I just want people to say, ‘Renard tried his best to give back to the community, and he did his best by the children,’” Monroe said. “That's all I want.”
Since starting in 1999, Monroe said that the year-round youth program has become bigger than him. He now has a 10-member team, four club assistants and is serving 100 kids, with over 300 on a waitlist. Their approach to the program goes beyond academic tutoring by blending educational enrichment through hands-on activities and community events like Family Day.
Though they are outgrowing their current location, inside the Merced Heights Playground Clubhouse, and are continuously in search of funding, Monroe said it won’t stop them from continuing to serve the community because the need for a program like his is still in high demand.
“Every year, every summer, there are different kids every school year, but the need is still there,” Monroe said. “The children are our future.”
The Ingleside Light caught up with Monroe to hear more about the impact Youth 1st has had in the OMI.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I do a lot of running around. Before you got here, I just got back from City Hall, where I spoke on behalf of our community and then picked up some awards for our Family Day. My typical day is checking in with staff, making sure they have everything that they need. Plan the days, plan the weeks, plan the whole summer, plan the school year. A lot of planning and executing different things, meeting with my staff. My days end at probably about seven o'clock every day. I start here at seven in the morning, and I go home around seven p.m.
What is the importance of having a program like this, and why should kids participate?
When I first started it, the need was different here. We had a lot more violence. The demographics have changed a lot in District 11. Now, because of social media and all the things that kids have to deal with, it's important to keep them doing hands-on things and being able to have social skills, not just online skills. Being around their neighbor that they didn't even know, being able to meet them. We've got kids in our program, I kid you not, that only see each other during the summer, and you should see them on the first day of the summer program when they see each other for the first time. They haven’t seen each other all year. They just run to each other and hug. It's a beautiful sight. The parents are excited. It's a beautiful thing just to see the dynamic of the friendships that are made. I have parents in my program who came through my program. I'm dating myself, but I was showing one of the kids. I'm like, “This is your mom when she was in the program.” It's full circle, makes me feel old, but it's also a beautiful thing.
Do you have a favorite memory or moment that sticks out from over the years?
It was a toy giveaway [last year], and we did a wish list. What do you want for Christmas? All of my years, I get PlayStation, Xbox, remote control car, bike, all of the things, Pokémon. This kid, Lorenzo, said that he wanted a hug for Christmas. I get emotional talking about it. It's one of those things where it's like, this is why you do it. This is a kid that could have asked for the world, and he just wanted a hug, so I surprised him when the mayor [Lurie] came for the toy giveaway. I put the mayor on the spot. And I said, “Hey, I got a kid here. You just got to say yes” to the mayor. When I put the microphone in his hand, he's like, “You got to tell me what it is,” and I’m like, “No, you just got to say yes.” He’s like “Yes, yes yes.” I said, “I got a young man here,” the whole crowd is watching, “All he wants for Christmas is a hug.” We brought Lorenzo up, and everybody, including the mayor, everybody that was in attendance, just walked up and gave him a hug. It was a beautiful moment. That was one of my favorite moments of all time.
What issues is Youth 1st facing currently, and how are you guys combating them?
Our budget is pretty solid right now. We fought really hard. Our families fought really hard, and our supervisor, who kind of got behind us. The challenge for us is really, like you see 300 kids on the wait list, we need a bigger place to really serve. We have a small satellite site that can only fit 25 students down the street, but we need a bigger location to really put a stranglehold on helping the community as much as possible, so that's just a big dream of mine, just to have a bigger location. We do need some help. We do safe passage here, so when school starts, we pick up and drop off our kids, and we do need a new passenger van, so we're going to be fundraising for that.
What do you picture the future of this program and the neighborhood looking like?
I really would like to see our community get a true community center where all of us can be housed, where the seniors and the youth can all be in one location. D11 is one of the few places where we just don't have that. We're all spread out. I would love to see that happen, other than having a new library.
[For Youth 1st] just being more sustainable, bringing in more funding from sources other than the city. I've been working hard to do a lot of private donors just to have that stability and build my board. I got a brand new board, which is doing really well, so I want them to just keep learning, keep getting stronger, so they can bring more to the community as well.
