Boys and Girls Clubs of the Peninsula

As the area’s largest at-risk youth development organization, BGCP works with parents, corporate partners and schools to serve 1,700 kindergarteners through twelfth graders in East Palo Alto, Redwood City and eastern Menlo Park. In three clubhouses and six school sites, we implement proven social and academic interventions that most impact a child’s achievement in school and in life.
We are closing the achievement gap. In neighborhoods where more than 50 percent of young people drop out of high school, 80 percent of BGCP school site members graduate from high school with a plan for college or career.

Friends for Youth 

Founded in 1979, our Mentoring Services program has helped nearly 2,000 youth-in-need reach their full potential. Our 90% success rate of creating long-term mentoring matches is far above the national average. Studies have consistently shown that youth in our program improve their motivation and school performance, demonstrate increased self-esteem and resiliency, and rarely have future involvement with the Juvenile Justice System. Mentoring works. 

North Fair Oaks Youth Initiative 

The North Fair Oaks Youth Initiative aims to strengthen the North Fair Oaks community by engaging and connecting local youth as leaders.  Twenty-five to thirty youth collaborate with one another and key community organizations and programs to strengthen youth leadership in three main components: leadership trainings, field trips and workshops, and grant-writing and grant-giving skills.  The NFO Youth Initiative meets in the North Fair Oaks area, at the Fair Oaks Community Center, the Siena Youth Center, the Police Activities League building, and other locations in North Fair Oaks. Click here to like them on Facebook!

Redwood City Police Activities League (PAL)

The Redwood City Police Activities League is a non-profit community based organization providing intervention, prevention, and alternative programs to at-risk and economically challenged youth in Redwood City. PAL programs strive to help youth assimilate honest values, assets, and skills. P.A.L., Redwood City Police Department, Redwood City School District and the City of Redwood City have formed a unique public and private partnership, which is critical in providing delinquency outreach and prevention programs.  PAL’s mission is to build partnerships between youth, police and the community through educational, cultural, recreational and outreach programs to help youth reach their full potential.

The Riekes Center 

The Riekes Center for Human Enhancement is a nonprofit organization that offers programs in athletic fitness, creative arts, nature awareness and student services. The Center uses a multi-disciplinary approach to provide students with resources and opportunities for the joy of self-enhancement. Programs combine technology with training and offer total support to the student. This helps individuals develop valuable skills, self-reliance and self-esteem through a dedicated respect for themselves and for each other. The Riekes Center is more than just a gym, an arts facility, or an outdoor education center. It is a home and a community, where students and staff alike actively practice one core philosophy:  that all students, all goals, and all interests are equally important.

The Siena Youth Center (SYC)

Siena Youth Center is a cherished non-profit program of the St. Francis Center. The Siena Youth Center strives to provide a safe, healthy, active, and happy place for the youth of the Fair Oaks Community in Redwood City.The Center offers youth a positive place to become and stay healthy, to interact with others in the community, to receive mentorship and provide leadership. The SYC offers a structured after school program that serves youth ages 10-17. Through mentorship and guidance, the Center offers academic support, arts, and physical activities such as sports and academic enrichment activities. The Siena Youth Center is in partnership with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Activities League, The Community Alliance to Revitalize our Neighborhood (CARON) Programs and Coaching Corps Program.

Young Dreamer Network Redwood City

The Young Dreamer Network is a Bay Area-based youth development program whose mission is to empower promising youth from under-resourced regions across the globe to become difference makers in their communities. We are cultivating an active group of Young Dreamers in California, Costa Rica, Guatemala, India and Ghana who will transform our world through their achievements, service and innovation.

Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) 

The Youth Leadership Institute works to build communities that invest in youth. YLI believes in cultivating engaged and dynamic young people today to lead to a more equitable and sustainable society tomorrow. Through decades of youth leadership development, YLI consistently sees young people’s deep motivation to challenge and improve the society in which they live. YLI fosters this passion, providing ways for youth to channel it into effective community change.

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Youth Programs 

Sheriff's Activities League (SAL)

The Sheriff's Activities League provides elementary school children opportunities to participate in sports programs and art activities during after school hours and occasional weekend events. Street hockey, basketball, and soccer are the main sports programs, and professional resident artists at Fair Oaks School have conducted art activities in ceramics, Flamenco dancing, printmaking, African drumming, mixed media art, Mexican folkloric dancing, silkscreen design, bookmaking, quilt making, and clock making.

School Resources Program

The School Resources Program, designated to follow-up on the D.A.R.E. Program, maintains deputies in local high schools. The deputies continue to provide guidance and counsel students during their difficult teenage years.

Sheriff's Explorer Program

The Sheriff's Explorer Program consists of individual posts of the Boy Scouts of America, the Search and Rescue Unit Post 830, and the Law Enforcement Unit Post 810. These young volunteers provide valuable services to the citizens of San Mateo County. The Search and Rescue Unit, for example, assists in rescue operations, such as lost children and adults. The Law Enforcement Unit provides similar support and assists with traffic control and various other duties at community functions.

S.T.A.R. Camp

The S.T.A.R. Camp is an annual event aimed at reaching out to underprivileged youths throughout our County. Sheriff's personnel and young campers trek to YMCA Camp Loma Mar for a week-long camping trip. This is a once in a lifetime experience for many of the children. This trip provides the children an opportunity to experience the great outdoors and enjoy a brief respite from the stress of inner city life.