Reverend Donald Robinson

Reverend Donald Robinson, president, Beacon House, Washington, D.C., an ordained Unitarian minister, founded Beacon House in the Edgewood neighborhood of Northeast Washington, D.C. in 1991, when the community was plagued by drugs, violence, and truancy. It was also home to the Edgewood Terrace housing complex, once considered an attractive place to live, but one that had become a “distressed” property. Rev, as he is known, moved into an abandoned three-bedroom apartment and created a safe and nurturing place for the children of Edgewood. He developed educational and recreational programs designed to give them positive, enriching experiences and to counter the risk factors associated with poverty, to which the children were exposed every day. Today Beacon House serves more than 400 young people ages 5 to 18. Rev also was active in bringing DC Prep to the community to improve educational opportunities. Over his 50-year career he has been a teacher, a youth counselor, a community organizer, and a social worker, as well as a friend and resource to countless young people.