City Year: Idealism in Action
City Year is a national organization that sponsors the collaborative efforts of young people aged 17 to 24 in a full year of service to partner with school systems and provide hands on educational support to children.
“At City Year’s locations across the United States and in South Africa, young people – called “corps members” – serve full time for 10 months. These young leaders put their idealism to work for children and communities through school-based service, youth leadership programs and community transformation…”
City Year is a good example of a successful program that is a collaborative effort between public school systems and private efforts comprising donations of time, talent, and funding from individuals, groups, and corporations. National Leadership Sponsors include blue chip corporations such as T-Mobile, Comcast, CSX, Pepsi, Aramark, Bank of America, Cisco Foundation, Deloitte, Walmart and Timberland.
US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is quoted on the City Year website as follows:
“You have to have folks with our students every single day, making a difference in their lives. That’s what City Year does, with its diversity, with its long term commitment, with its passionate young people. There’s no one else I know of in the country who is having that kind of impact.”
Last night the “Idealism in Action Gala” was held for the Washington DC chapter of City Year. It was an inspirational evening complete with City Year corps members who were present to mingle with attendees, sharing their stories of their year spent in D.C. Public Schools. Later, in an awards ceremony, City Year recognized a number of local individuals as “Idealists of the Year” for their contributions to the community. A “Lifetime of Idealism Award” was presented to TIME Managing Editor Richard Stengel. Cassidy & Associates was proud to be a Silver Sponsor of this event.