Community Learning Center Programs
Beans and Rice, Inc. runs Community Learning Centers at two sites in the City of Radford and one in the town of Pulaski. These centers serve the needs of multiple age groups, including preschoolers, children, youth, and adults in low-income housing units.

At Willow Woods and Fairfax Village in the City of Radford and at Meadowview in the Town of Pulaski Beans and Rice provides some combination of the following programs:

• Pre-School Program (PSP) Monday-Thursday from 1:00 to
  3: 00 PM focuses on reading readiness skills including shapes,
  colors, letters, and numbers, story time, educational games and
  play, and free time. The children are provided with a
  nutritious snack.
  
  
• After School Program (ASP) Monday-Thursday from 4:00 to 6:00 PM for K-4th grade focuses on homework time, educational play and games, recreational activities, and cultural and educational enrichment . These children receive a snack and a meal.
  
  
• Youth Leadership Program for teens and pre-teens Monday-Thursday 3:30-6:00 PM stresses self discipline, self-esteem, raised aspirations, and high achievement. The program includes academics, service, leadership, and academic enrichment projects. These Youth receive a snack and a meal.
  
  
• Mealtime is a hot meal for program participants and the community two to four evenings a week, depending on availability of funding.
  
  
• Drug Prevention Program for both children and adults . This project is integrated into the existing programming.
  
  
• Neighborhood Network Computer Learning Centers are open four days per week and integrated into all other programs.
  
  
• Adult Education including a computer literacy class, adult literacy, GED, parenting skills, job readiness, and economic education meets on a regular class schedule.
  
  
• Summer Program a ten week program which provides swimming instruction, sports activities, weekly trips to Crow's Nest Farm for environmental and educational activities, a weekly reading program with Radford Public Library, and a weekly sports tournament and pizza party to which the parents are invited.
  
  
• Youth Community Garden is a garden plot 20 by 20 at Fairfax Village. Gardening is combined with curriculum around the environment and horticulture.
  
  
• Economic Development
  1. Partnering with the New Enterprise Fund Beans and Rice is the intake and support for savers in the Individual Development account program. This is a two for one program which leads to home ownership, post secondary education, or a business startup.
  2. Beans and Rice also is engaged in developing local entrepreneurial activity through a grant from the
  Appalachian Regional Commission. This activity will lead to a Southwest Virginia/Allegheny
  Highlanders Crafter network and a craft outlet on I81 in Pulaski County.
  
  
• Service-Learning Program provides placement for 75 Radford University and Virginia Tech students per semester averaging 30 hours per student. In addition we have developed four in service trainings including 1) Orientation and Teambuilding, 2) Discipline through Conflict Resolution, 3) a White Privilege Workshop and 4) a simulation Life in the State of Poverty.
  
  
• Alternative Break Beans and rice was a site for Miliken University and Cornell College students last year. This year they are sites for Pepperdine, Jacksonville University, Appalachian State, Wheaton College, and Delta State University. Alternative Break participants work in the community learning centers and attend workshops leading to a community development certificate.
  
  
• Scholarship Fund has been established to aid participants in the program in receiving post secondary education
  

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