In February 2021, Vincent Ray Williams III received the prestigious national honor of the Jefferson Award, recognizing his extraordinary commitment to serving others and giving back to his community.

Often regarded as one of the nation’s most respected honors for public and community service, the Jefferson Awards recognize individuals whose actions demonstrate selflessness, compassion, leadership, and an exceptional commitment to improving the lives of others. Recipients are celebrated not simply for what they have accomplished, but for their willingness to dedicate their time, energy, and talents in service to something greater than themselves.

For Vincent, receiving this recognition honored his selfless contributions to society and his dedication to serving people and communities too often overlooked. The award reflected his belief that meaningful change begins with showing up, taking action, and using one’s experiences and abilities to create opportunities, dignity, and hope for others.

Vincent Ray Williams III received this prestigious recognition because his service to Oakland represented something far greater than simply cleaning streets, parks, and homeless encampments. His work demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to compassion, dignity, service, and taking action when others might simply walk past a problem.

The work that would eventually become Urban Park Cleanup began with a simple encounter in West Oakland. While exercising at a local park, Vincent met a six-year-old boy living with his mother in a nearby van. The child explained that his mother would not allow him to play in the park because it was too dirty. Looking at the child, Vincent saw reflections of his own experiences with hardship and homelessness. Rather than waiting for someone else to solve the problem, Vincent purchased cleaning supplies with his own money, returned to the park, and spent nearly an entire weekend removing trash until the space was clean.

That single act of service grew into a much larger commitment to Oakland's unhoused community.

Vincent became known not only for organizing efforts to remove trash, broken glass, discarded needles, and other hazardous debris, but for building relationships with the people living in the communities he served. His approach was rooted in the belief that people experiencing homelessness deserved more than a cleaner environment—they deserved to be seen, heard, respected, and cared for as human beings.

His service often extended far beyond organized cleanups. Whether searching for an elderly unhoused woman to make sure she was safe, returning the next morning with batteries for someone who needed them, bringing a can opener so another person could eat, or using his community connections to help someone pursue housing and services, Vincent demonstrated that meaningful change can begin with seemingly small acts of compassion.

What made his contributions particularly meaningful was the perspective he brought to the work. Having personally experienced homelessness and significant adversity, Vincent understood many of the people he served from a place of lived experience. Instead of allowing those experiences to define the limits of his future, he used them to develop a deeper understanding of others and a determination to give back.

His work inspired community members, volunteers, local leaders, and those who witnessed it firsthand. One observer described Vincent as inspiring and ultimately called people like him "City Treasures."

The recognition Vincent received honored precisely that spirit: a person who saw a need, refused to look away, and transformed compassion into action. What began with one child, one park, and one weekend of cleaning grew into a larger movement of service—demonstrating the selflessness, leadership, perseverance, and humanity for which Vincent's community work became known.

-Steve Heimoff_ Coalition For A Better Oakland

AWARDS & COMMENDATIONS

Prior to dedicating himself full-time to his community-based work, Vincent Ray Williams III served as both Operations Manager and Benefits Manager at the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, where he played a pivotal role in helping to build and establish the Glenn Burke Wellness Clinic.

The Glenn Burke Wellness Clinic was created as a vital community resource focused on sexual health, wellness, prevention, and connecting people of color and other underserved community members to potentially life-changing health and supportive services. Vincent's work helped strengthen the operational foundation necessary to transform the vision for the clinic into a functioning resource for the community.

On August 31, 2021, Vincent resigned from the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center to dedicate himself full-time to leading Urban Park Cleanup, which would later become Urban Compassion Project. His departure represented the beginning of a new chapter in his commitment to direct community service.

Upon his departure, Vincent was formally recognized for his outstanding contributions to the establishment of the Glenn Burke Wellness Clinic and his tireless dedication to the community. The recognition reflected not only the work Vincent accomplished during his time at the Center, but a consistent commitment to building programs, organizations, and services designed to improve the lives of people who have historically been underserved and overlooked.

On May 3, 2026, Vincent Williams was presented with the City of Oakland Hero Award, a City Council Commendation recognizing his unwavering commitment to human rights, community action, and creating a more compassionate Oakland.

The award honored Vincent's work through Urban Compassion Project, particularly his efforts to create safe, humane, and dignified public spaces for all people. His service went beyond improving physical conditions within the city—it centered on protecting the dignity and humanity of people experiencing homelessness and ensuring that communities too often overlooked had someone willing to stand beside and advocate for them.

Vincent was also recognized for his passion for serving at-risk youth and his fierce advocacy for the rights of unhoused people and people of color. Central to the recognition was Vincent's ability to transform his own lived experiences with adversity into a powerful force for service. Rather than allowing the challenges of his past to remain simply part of his personal story, he used those experiences to better understand, connect with, and advocate for others facing difficult circumstances.

Presented by Oakland City Councilmember Charlene Wang of District 2, the Hero Award represented the City's gratitude for Vincent's years of community service and acknowledged the broader impact of his leadership.

The recognition carries particular significance because it celebrates what has remained at the heart of Vincent's work: turning lived experience into action, treating people with dignity regardless of their circumstances, and using his voice and leadership to fight for people who are too often unheard, unseen, or forgotten.

The City of Oakland's Hero Award stands as recognition that Vincent's greatest contribution has not simply been the organizations or programs he helped build, but the people he served, the dignity he fought to protect, and his commitment to helping create a safer and more compassionate city for everyone.

In 2022, Vincent Williams was formally recognized by the City of Oakland with a City Council Commendation honoring his continued service, leadership, and contributions to the Oakland community.

Presented by then-Oakland City Council President Pro Tempore and District 4 Councilmember Sheng Thao, the commendation recognized Vincent for his work through Urban Compassion Project and his dedication to making Oakland a cleaner, greener, and more culturally rich city.

The City Council recognition specifically acknowledged Vincent as someone who exemplified the virtues of integrity, activism, and heroism, while serving as an example to fellow Oaklanders. It further recognized his ongoing efforts to improve the lives of others and the positive impact his work was having throughout the city.

Through the commendation, Vincent was officially recognized, thanked, and highly commended for his outstanding contributions to his communities and to the City of Oakland. The honor represented another significant milestone in Vincent's journey of community service—recognizing not only individual accomplishments, but his continued commitment to showing up for Oakland's residents and working to create meaningful change.