Police Activities League is like a second family for generations of Richmonders

Blanca Zepeda could be a poster child for the Richmond Police Activities League.

The co-owner of the BiancoVerde at the Hotel Mac restaurant in Point Richmond began visiting RPAL at 22nd Street and Macdonald Avenue in downtown Richmond  when she was a 14-year-old student at Richmond High School.

Zepeda told Richmondside RPAL provided her with a variety of after-school activities, from soccer to cooking, that occupied her afternoons while her parents were working.

The center did more than keep Zepeda busy. She got help filling out college applications, which led to her attending UC Berkeley. She also learned how to write a resume and honed her skills for job interviews.

This eventually led Zepeda and her husband, Juvenal Magaña into the restaurant business. They also own Mi Casa Grill.

“I’m very thankful. RPAL is a big part of who I am,” Zepeda said. “I found a family and support here. They were like a second set of parents.”

The Richmond Police Activities League was formed in 1982 to help children and teens navigate life in a city that at the time had an above-average crime rate and a gang problem. It’s one of a number of youth-centric programs in Richmond. Among them are the RYSE Center, YES Nature to Neighborhoods, YouthWORKS and YouthBUILD.

While Richmond’s violent crime rates overall have dropped significantly since then, Zepeda still wants her children to reap the same rewards. She is signing up her 8-year-old son, Juvenal Magaña, the oldest of her three children, for an RPAL membership.

There will be plenty of choices for him when he arrives at RPAL. If he wants to follow in his parents’ footsteps, the center just finished installing a new commercial-grade kitchen classroom.

RPAL is officially a part of the Richmond Police Department’s youth services program, although it has its own board of directors and operates independently.

It’s affiliated with the California Police Activities League and the National Police Activities League.

About a third of RPAL’s annual $1.8 million budget comes from the police department. The rest of the revenue is derived from grants, contracts, donations and membership fees.

The center serves children as young as 5 up to age 21. To become a member, families are asked to fill out an application, attend an orientation and pay a $30 annual fee.

Larry Lewis, RPAL’s executive director, estimates the center works with 2,500 children per year. Many of them participate in the organization’s plethora of sports programs, and he said one can find 50 to 75 children at the center on any given afternoon during the school year and as many as 150 per day during the summer.

The center usually opens at about 2 p.m. and closes at about 6 p.m. It sometimes opens earlier on school minimum days, and you’ll find the lights on later when evening basketball and volleyball games are played in its spacious gym.

“It’s a one-stop youth center where all kids can come,” said Lewis, who was a Richmond police officer for 33 years before joining RPAL a decade ago.

The RPAL facility on Macdonald Avenue provides meals for youths as well as homework assistance, a safe place to go after school and adults who can just sit and listen to a troubled teen.

Its most popular feature is probably its youth sports programs. RPAL’s Athletic Academy offers basketball programs for children ages 7 to 18, soccer for ages 7 to 17 and baseball and softball for ages 5 to 14 as well as volleyball, tennis and flag football.

There is also a boxing and weight-lifting facility on the second floor overlooking the gym with punching bags and a full-size ring. Lewis said children here learn about physical fitness, self-defense skills and appropriate ways to express anger. Boxing matches are not held.

The sports programs are designed to teach children life skills while they hone their abilities in their chosen athletic endeavor.

That’s what Fahd Dais said he learned when he began participating in RPAL’s basketball and boxing programs as a seventh-grader.

Dais stayed in the RPAL family after graduating from high school in 2024. He now works as the organization’s membership coordinator and helps coach basketball.

Dais said he is still being mentored by the same RPAL staff members who helped him through his teen years.

“I still look up to them,” he said.

Sports, however, is only one component of RPAL.

There are a number of youth empowerment programs to help teens and young adults build life skills and stay out of the juvenile justice system. The programs include the Youth Leadership Council and the Richmond Police Explorers. The Explorers are for members ages 14 to 20 who are interested in a law enforcement career. Right now, 16 of the program’s graduates work for the Richmond Police Department. 

On RPAL’s first floor, you will also find a recording studio where young members can create music. Nearby is a podcast room where two students are currently producing weekly podcasts that are broadcast on RPAL’s YouTube channel.

There’s also a classroom where science and technology courses are taught as well as a space to build Lego robots.

In another corner, there is the Maker Space room, where youths craft T-shirts and other creative products. It includes a 3D printer.

This is a favorite spot for Eva Newton, a 10-year-old Harding Elementary School pupil who has been coming to RPAL for the past three years to play volleyball and hang out in Maker Space.

“This is a great, fun place,” she said.

She is also looking forward to trying out RPAL’s new kitchen.

The $550,000 Josh and Elaine Genser Culinary Center, which was built with corporate and individual donations, features cooking appliances as well as an industrial sink and a full-fledged refrigerator.

It will be the home of RPAL’s Culinary Club, which will teach children about food science as well as cooking.

Sarah Wally, director of the Richmond Main Street Initiative, helped with the design and installation of the culinary center. She says children will learn about agriculture, healthy diets, recipes and food labels in this program.

“It covers all aspects of food. It’s building life skills,” she said.

“Young people learn how to eat healthy,” added Lewis. “It’s an immersive, educational program.”

Zepeda says all these programs are what makes RPAL special.

“There is a sense of community here. It’s a place of belonging,” she said.