The Washington Neighborhood Center
Sacramento Bee article, 1972
Mission and Info
The mission of the Washington Neighborhood Center is to provide a safe and positive environment for youth and young adults and to assist them in developing healthy minds, bodies, and spirits. The Center’s staff and volunteers embrace these values and are committed to serving as positive role models and mentors.
History of the Washington Neighborhood Center
The Washington Neighborhood Center is located at 400 16th Street in one of Sacramento’s oldest neighborhoods. The Center was originally founded by the Fremont Presbyterian Church as an outreach program in 1952. The Center has provided residents of the Alkali Flat and Washington neighborhoods a wide complement of programs and services for over 50 years. Offering programs in the arts, education, recreational activities, health, culture and an overall emphasis on the development of youth, the Center and its programs have served as a refuge for many who reside in a troubled environment.
Testimonials
"I moved to Sacramento from Mexico with my family at the age of fourteen. We lived in an apartment a few blocks from the Center. I participated in numerous WNC programs and activities and met most of my first friends at the Center. I played basketball and other sports activities and went on WNC-sponsored trips to the snow and the mountains. The Center had many good role models, and the staff helped me obtain summer jobs. Most importantly, they provided a safe place for young people to be.
The WNC staff inspired me to go to college. The youth counselors and then-Center Director Bill Aguirre always talked to us about the importance of a good education and gave us important information about college opportunities. The advice paid off. I graduated from CSUS with a double major in Communications and Ethnic Studies."
--Armando Botello – Media Broadcaster and Producer
"The Washington Center had a huge impact on my life. As a young girl, I joined the Girl Scouts and participated in cooking, sewing and ceramics classes. I had a lot of fun and I felt really good about spending time at the Center. As a teenager, the Center gave me a safe place to hang out and the opportunity to take part in positive and fun recreational activities. We played pool and attended dances that the Center occasionally held for the young people in the community. But the program that had the biggest impact on me as a young adult was the Washington Barrio Education Center. This program helped open a big door to a brighter future for me. It helped me regain the self-esteem that I desperately needed as a single teenage mother of two children. I am now a correctional counselor and am working with teenagers to help them regain their self-esteem."
--Carolina Romero - Youth Authority Counselor