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City Year Washington, DC Graduation Launches a Lifetime of Idealism

Evan Waldt deliveres the corps member address.

On Friday, June 18 City Year Washington, DC held a spirited Graduation Ceremony at Francis-Stevens Education Campus to conclude a challenging and rewarding year of service for the 2009-2010 corps.

The evening's highlights included the corps member address delivered by Evan Waldt, who received a standing ovation for his speech about how City Year brought out his inner idealist. The night also included special guest Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. who delivered the keynote speech, thanking the corps for providing excellent service to the DC community.

Each City Year corps member completed 1,700 hours of service as a tutor, mentor, and role model for children in DC schools. This year's corps of 100 young people was the largest in City Year Washington, DC's history and has built on the success of last year's program to make even bigger strides in the community.

Special congratulations are in order for Francis-Stevens Education Campus for being named Best Service Partner and CSX for the honor of Best Team Sponsor. WilmerHale awarded the WilmerHale Civic Innovation Award to a deserving corps member, Jazmin Wilburn, for her innovative approach to addressing conflict among students through the Young Ladies Of Virtue (YLOV) club she started at Simon Elementary. YLOV is a club for third to sixth grade girls that meets twice a week to focus on building self-esteem, self-respect, and self-love through stepping and discussing issues girls face at a young age. In addition to the WilmerHale Award, Comcast awarded corps member Daniel Lawson the Comcast Leadership Award for his outstanding work and leadership throughout the year.

Executive Director Jeff Franco presented corps member Evan Waldt with the Long Walk Award for serving the most hours out of any corps member (over 2,000!) and senior corps member UnoBlessed Coons with the Corps Member of the Year Award for always being thoughtful, engaging, hardworking, and forward-thinking in her service.

Special thanks to our host Francis-Stevens Education Campus and congratulations to all of the 2009-2010 corps members!

HIGHLIGHTS

Life After City Year

City Year Washington, DC corps members pursue diverse endeavors following their year of service. Of this year's graduated, 16 will return as City Year senior corps members to serve the DC community for a second year, others will begin their careers in various fields, and some will continue their education.

City Year would like to wish the 2009-2010 corps the best of luck in their future endeavors.

Highlights of a few life after city year plans from the 2009-2010 corps include:

Kahlie Collier who served at Simon Elementary School was offered a Pre-K teaching position from Simon's Principal, Dr. Flamer. Kahlie will teach at Simon while dually enrolled in an American University's masters program.

Imani Crawford from The Comcast Team serving at Browne Education Campus will attend Howard University.

Lindsey Daugherty from the Serve DC Team serving at Turner at Green Elementary will teach special education in a Baltimore Public School.

Dante Devito from The Acacia Group Team serving at Francis-Stevens Education Campus will attend Northern Virginia Community College.

Omar El Sharkawy from the Serve DC Team serving at Turner at Green Elementary will work for a small hedge fund company in New York City.

Joshua Fletcher from The CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield HIV/AIDS Outreach, Prevention, and Education Team plans to start his undergraduate education in media and film.

Justin Fogata from The CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield HIV/AIDS Outreach, Prevention, and Education Team will teach English in Korea.

Jonathan Gonzalez from The Comcast Team serving at Browne Education Campus will complete an internship with the Barack Obama Administration.

BreAnn Holmes the Team Leader of the Serve DC Team serving at Turner at Green Elementary will begin her junior year at Indiana University.

Meghan Ingrisano from The National Cable & Telecommunications Association Team serving at Ferebee-Hope Community School will attend Harvard Law School in the fall.

Thanh Lam from The Case Foundation Heroes Team will join the National Outdoor Leadership School.

Talibe Moore from the Serve DC Team serving at Turner at Green Elementary will attend the University of the District of Columbia.

Antoine N'diaye from The Acacia Group Team serving at Francis-Stevens Education Campus will attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for Aeronautical Engineering on a soccer scholarship this fall.

Achievement in Service

City Year's Achievement in Service Awards were created to recognize and appreciate the hard work, growth, and impact of the City Year corps members across the 19 site network. City Year Washington, DC is proud to announce that the following teams were nationally recognized for their excellence in service.

The Malcolm X Elementary School Team won the Outstanding Service Impact: Behavior Initiative Award for going above and beyond to support a school-wide behavior initiative by promoting the City Year values of respect, teamwork, and inclusivity through their "50 Acts of Leadership" program, which engaged 151 students in thoughtful behavior coaching over the course of the year.

The CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield HIV/AIDS Outreach, Prevention, and Education (HOPE) Team won the Outstanding Service Impact: Other Award for capitalizing on their partnerships with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and Metro TeenAIDS and for their innovative programming, which reached 2,133 middle, junior, and senior high school students this year.

The Acacia Group Team serving at Francis-Stevens Education Campus earned the Outstanding Service Impact: Whole School, Whole Child Team Award. As part of the initiative to combat America's dropout crisis, the team provided high quality academic assistance, improved school climate through community outreach initiatives, and facilitated after school activities that reinforced learning, leadership, and positive behavior.

Honor Someone Special with a Gift to City Year Washington, DC

Tribute gifts are often given to celebrate a special occasion, show appreciation for someone's kindness or to recognize their impact on your life. Making a gift in honor of a friend, loved one, City Year corps member or alum is a great way to not only recognize that person, but also to support City Year Washington, DC.

CLICK HERE to make a tribute gift online. Tribute gifts can also be mailed to Individual Giving Manager Shannon Young (1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1130, Washington, DC 20009). Please be sure to include the name and address of the person you are honoring. For more information, please contact Shannon Young.

IN THE NEWS

Corps Member Featured in Comcast Newsmaker

Corps member UnoBlessed Coons was interviewed in a Comcast Newsmaker, which aired on Comcast’s Headline News channel in June. The clip features City Year's service and explains how young people can apply. CLICK HERE to see the video clip.

City Year Idealists of the Year Featured in National Journal

2010 Idealists of the Year pose with corps members after receiving their Idealist of the Year awards.

The June 5 issue of National Journal included a full-page ad featuring City Year Washington, DC's 2010 Idealists of the Year. The Idealists of the Year were honored at City Year Washington, DC's May 25th Idealism in Action Gala for their service to others and to the Washington, DC community. Thank you, National Journal, for making this recognition of the 2010 Idealists of the Year possible.