RICHMOND GLOBE
December 17 - 23, 2008

Richmond BUILD Honored with National Award from FBI

By Tuseda A. Graggs

The Richmond BUILD program, the city’s innovative violence prevention and job training program for local residents, was honored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the agency’s prestigious 2008 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award.

Charlene Thornton, the FBI’s special agent in charge of San Francisco operations, on Dec. 10 presented Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin with a certificate and plaque to celebrate the program’s success. [emphasis added]

She thanked those who helped make the program a reality including Michele McGeoy, executive director of Solar Richmond, Sal Vaca, Richmond’s director of employment and training, the instructors and the students. More than a dozen Richmond BUILD students also stood and cheered as their program was recognized.

“Those of you in the orange shirts are making a difference. You are turning the lives of your families around. You are turning the city around. You are turning the planet around,” said McLaughlin as she accepted the award. “There aren’t enough awards around that we can give this program, but this is a great honor.” [emphasis added]

Since 1990 the annual award has been given to individuals and organizations that take extraordinary steps in the area of drug and violence education and prevention, Thornton said.

Richmond BUILD’s award is one of seven presented to date nationally. And, in 2009, Richmond representatives will be flown to Washington, D.C., for a gathering of all national award winners. They will be presented with awards from FBI Director Robert Mueller III.

Richmond BUILD had the vision to conceive a way to address violence in the community that has resulted in a measurable drop in crime, Thornton said.

“The root of the problem is far too complex to solve with just more arrests and more jail. (It has provided) pathways out of poverty for those who had none,” she said. “That’s quite a resume for a program that hasn’t been around for even two years.”

Richmond Vice Mayor John Márquez and City Councilwoman Ludmyrna Lopez attended the event and spoke highly of the program.

“This program gives real skills that employers are looking for,” said Lopez. “I’ve gotten so many calls from Richmond BUILD graduates who say ‘thank you.’ This program creates hope for them to take a straight and narrow road in their life.”

Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus called the program “incredible and with an impressive track record.”
“(The police) certainly can’t take all the credit for crime going down in Richmond. The credit has to be shared with programs like this,” he said.

The Richmond BUILD program’s eighth cohort training group is already full. Its ninth group, which begins in May, is currently accepting applications for its waiting list. For more information, call (510) 307-8034.