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Twenty-five years ago, Rodney Cephas gathered a bunch of kids at Beacon House and told them he was forming a football team. Since then, Cephas, who is the director of athletics and mentoring for the after-school education and youth development program, has had 10,000 kids take part in one of their athletic teams. “We do basketball, girls and boys,” Cephas said. “We do sideline cheer, plus competitive cheer, baseball, T-ball. We’ve just started a pilot program track last year.” Cephas made it clear that the kids, who range between 5 and 18 years old, are student-athletes and must maintain a certain grade point average to play on a team. While Beacon House makes its home in Ward 5 at the Edgewood Commons housing complex, the 400 kids that take part in its programs come from all eight of D.C.’s wards. When you ask Cephas about success stories, he mentions when the kids go to college and get their degrees, and then come back to Beacon House to volunteer. Danielle Schmutz, executive director of Beacon House, said Cephas is the heart and soul of the organization, and he is carrying on the legacy of its founder, Rev. Donald E. Robinson. James Gray, the assistant athletic director at Beacon House, echoed Schmutz. “We have firefighters that’s in the city, that came out of Beacon House. We have doctors, we have lawyers,” Gray said. “It all started just with him and a vision.” While Cephas spoke first of being proud of Beacon House kids who got into colleges and private high schools, he also mentioned that three current NFL players once played on Beacon House teams. That is something that Cephas says teaches the younger kids an important lesson. “If you stay dedicated,” Cephas said, “hard work pays off, and your dreams can come true.” Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here. © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
