River City Youth Foundation (RCYF)

River City Youth Foundation exists to help youth and families in Dove Springs to live safe, healthy, and prosperous lives.

Our vision is to be an exemplary model of comprehensive neighborhood-based youth and family services that maximizes every child’s potential and improves communities. This vision includes: 1) safe learning environments, 2) constructive educational and therapeutic activities, 3) personal growth and self-improvement opportunities, 4) successful coordination of social services, 5) mobilization of community resources and active community involvement, 6) improvement of neighborhoods and the well-being of residents, and 7) assistance to individuals in pursuit of college and careers.

“Through a combination of professional counseling, mentoring, tutoring, hot suppers, nutritious feeding and parent support groups, we’ve been able to reach over a quarter of a million people,” said Mona Gonzalez, the founder and executive director of the River City Youth Foundation. The Austin agency is committed to helping the people of the Dove Springs Neighborhood to live safe, healthy and prosperous lives.

The Dove Springs neighborhood is located on the southeast side of Austin, wedged between I-35 and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. With approximately 36,000 residents, the area has the largest Hispanic population in Austin and is considered one of the three epicenters for Hispanic growth, according to the City of Austin Demographer’s office.

The foundation began as a grassroots organization working directly with clients in the city’s housing projects.

“A couple decades ago, we were operating out of recreation centers, churches any venue we could find to do our tutoring, our programs for the children,” said Gonzalez.

In 1998, a two-acre plot of land was donated by David and Gayanne Vandam. Page Southerland Page used the land to build the youth center still on the grounds today. Click here to see photos of our Success Center.

“We have a tremendous amount of stability in the Dove Springs community because we’re here on this beautiful park land, providing an opportunity to engage the community in a consistent way,” Gonzalez said.

The area where River City Youth Foundation now stands used to be a haven for drugs, gang activity and violence. The agency seeks to address those issues brought on by a lack of education and poverty through seven core areas of service. Through community outreach and events, the foundation has mobilized the neighborhood to help combat street crime.

The staff considers the children ‘at promise,’ not at risk. Each child has the potential to be a leader. With educational support and strong role models, children can embrace the promise of their lives and exceed beyond expectations.

RYCF also celebrates fathers and mothers as role models. Through community-building events like the Father’s Day Parade, the neighborhood beams with pride in support of their children. Evidence of community pride can also been seen through home, street and neighborhood improvements.

Over the years, the foundation has been able to reach thousands of children and their families. As the area continues to grow, the foundation is dedicated to expanding its programs to better serve the needs of the growing community and help the area be prepared for the future of our society.

“What the future holds for Dove Springs is a revitalized community where youth and families are actively engaged in strategic planning to make this community safer, healthier and more prosperous,” said Gonzalez.

Community events include: Annual Easter Egg Hunt in late March or early April, fieldtrip and fundraiser last Saturday in April at Eeyore's birthday party in Pease Park, Lemonade stand project in May, Fathers' Day Parade and Celebration in June, summer camps in June-July-August, back-to-school concert in August, afterschool program kick-off in September, Haunted Math House in October, Thanksgiving Circle in November, Merry Memories in December, First Night Austin on December 31, celebrating National Mentoring Month in January, kick-off afterschool spring programming in February and participate in city-wide La Feria event in East Austin, spring break camp in March.

We also plant and harvest from a large vegetable garden all year, and use our Peace Garden for meetings, mentoring, lessons and more.

This Primary service available MY Hero! Mentoring Partnership: matches youth from 5-17 years of age in the 78744 area with one-on-one mentors for at least 8 hours per month for at least 9-12 months.
This Primary service available Technology and Multimedia Training: Computer Learning Lab, Youth Technology Visionaries, cross-platform lab with MicroSoft, MAC and Open Source operating systems.
This Primary service available Neighborhood Youth Corp (NYC) leadership training and healthy choices/prevention programs; Case-by-Case Management: family resources, services and counseling, referrals

“The future looks bright for Dove Springs, the future looks bright for the children growing up in this community and for their children and their children’s children,” said Mona Gonzalez, the founding Executive Director of River City Youth Foundation (RCYF). The long-running nonprofit agency provides educational, technological and life enhancement programs for “at-promise” youth and their families living in the high-risk Dove Springs area of southeast Austin. Since the agency’s 1983 inception, Gonzalez has taken RCYF’s services to nearly every challenged community in Austin.

“We’ve increased resources to the Dove Springs community by helping to build a library, recreation center, a neighborhood pool, and most recently a health clinic,” she said. “We were able to mobilize the community so that we could actually get the federal, the state, the regional, local resources to get the municipal infrastructure in Dove Springs to what you see today.”

Gonzalez is nationally regarded for developing successful collaborative strategies that reclaim and revitalize neighborhoods. In 1999, RCYF was recognized with a National Keep America Beautiful Award for converting an abandoned site into what is now a thriving community youth and technology center in Dove Springs. At the agency’s Success Center, children and their families receive a number of services, including computer training, life skills preparation, mentoring, hot suppers and counseling. (Article continues after video.)

“I’ve learned that its better to light a candle than to curse the darkness,” said Gonzalez. “And I think with that understanding and that attitude, you can expect great and beautiful things for the RCYF for Dove Springs and most especially for all of the children that we will reach with our special programs and all the special people who are committed to this mission.”

Gonzalez’s leadership and commitment to improve the quality of life for youth has been modeled locally and by other regional programs. She is credited with establishing RCYF in 1986 as the first youth outreach organization in Dove Springs. There, she also helped form the SCAN neighborhood organization in 1993, which grew to 11 neighborhood associations and more than 700 members. Another RCYF project, the Great Austin Graffiti Wipeout, is also recognized as the first citywide volunteer effort to tackle Austin’s gang-related graffiti problems. This five-year campaign spurred other city efforts nationwide.

Other notable roles for Gonzalez include a two-year stint in 1990 as co-chair of the Mayor’s Task Force on Crime, Gangs and Drugs. In this position, she helped publish the Code Blue, a strategic plan for the 90s addressing gang violence in Austin and other high-risk issues. Some of Gonzalez’s former positions in the community include a City appointment to the Restructuring Task Force for the Community Action Network; board member of the Austin Child Guidance Center; chairperson of the Neighborhood Protection Action Committee of the Community Justice Council; and founding board member of the Pebble Project Child Abuse Program.

For her 30-years of work in Austin inspiring youth and developing programs that educate and protect them, Gonzalez received the 2006 Book of Golden Deeds Award, an honorary lifetime recognition bestowed by the Exchange Club of Austin, an 82-year-old service organization. In 2004, RCYF also received the Hispanic Community Service Award from Austin ISD.

Currently, Gonzalez serves on the boards of the Casey Family Program / Foundation, Austin Free-Net, the ACC Center for Community-Based & Nonprofit Organizations, and the KLRU Hispanic Advisory Board. She is a member of HABLA (Hispanic Advocates and Business Leadership of Austin) and is a
Fellow of Boston University School of Medicine’s Join Together Fellows National Substance Abuse Prevention Program.

“Everyday I think in terms of how many more kids are we going to be able to help,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a motivating factor for me to make an impact, to make a difference.”

Gonzalez has a Sociology degree from the University of Texas. She has received leadership awards from numerous organizations, including the Austin Police Department, the Dispute Resolution Center, the Community Justice Council, Keep America Beautiful, LULAC and numerous other Hispanic organizations.

Gonzalez has lived in Austin for more than 30 years. With over 25 years of experience working with at-risk youth and families, she also is a consultant, speaker and trainer on a local, statewide and national level.

“Seeing the smiles on kids keeps me motivated, realizing on a day to day basis, that what we do has an impact on these children’s lives. Whether it’s feeding them, whether it’s just giving them a hug, whether it’s creating a lesson plan for them so they can get good grades, so they can truly dream the dream and achieve the dream of getting a career some day, those little steps are the things that need to be done on a day to day basis. I see the need for that. I see how we can jump in there and help,” said Gonzalez.