The Richmond Main Street Initiative, Inc.
312-9th Street, Suite 205
Richmond, CA 94801
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Renée Hill, (510) 236-4050
 

EAST BAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION AWARDS $10,000 GRANT TO RICHMOND MAIN STREET TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY SAFETY STAFFING
 

The East Bay Community Foundation has awarded a $10,000 Responsive Grant to the Richmond Main Street Initiative, Inc. (RMSI) to support the continued staffing of its new Community Safety Coordinator position in downtown Richmond. RMSI concluded that the position was needed after a Spring 2002 local consumer survey revealed that one of the greatest impediments to increased shopping activity downtown is lingering misconceptions about safety in the commercial district.

RMSI initiated the Community Safety Coordinator position in September 2002 with the initial placement of AmeriCorps member Kristen Phinnessee, a San Pablo native and 2002 graduate of Georgetown University. RMSI believes that as a long-term measure, a Main Street staff member dedicated to working with the local community and the police department to respond to community safety and blight concerns is critical in furthering the organization's community revitalization goals, which include helping to stimulate business retention and recruitment. Recent projects have included Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design site visits for downtown merchants, conducted with Richmond Police Department Officer Dan Sanchez, and volunteer service days to help maintain the Richmond Community Garden. Planned projects include the development of a Young Adult Ambassador Program in conjunction with Richmond Police Department Sergeant Ron Berry, to help provide additional quality of life crime monitoring downtown while furnishing local young adult ambassadors with life skills enrichment training.

The Richmond Main Street Initiative is a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing historic downtown Richmond as a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly urban village with products, services, arts and entertainment that reflect the community's rich and diverse heritage.

The East Bay Community Foundation is a permanent endowment of charitable funds dedicated to improving the human condition and enhancing the quality of life of the residents and communities of Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The objective of the Foundation's stewardship and development of these philanthropic funds is to carry out donors' wishes by addressing ever-changing community needs through Foundation leadership, collaboration and grant making. The Foundation was founded in 1928 and is the second oldest community foundation in California.

For further information about the Richmond Main Street Initiative, please call Renée Hill, Executive Director at (510) 236-4050. For further information about the East Bay Community Foundation, please contact (510) 836-3223.