WHAT'S NEW

CHANCELLOR RHEE HELPS UNVEIL CITY YEAR'S NEW HEADQUARTERS

Last Wednesday, December 10, City Year Washington, DC held its New Headquarters Reception to officially open its doors at 1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1130. The reception provided a great opportunity for partners, champions, and friends to receive a tour of the new City Year Washington, DC Headquarters, mix and mingle with City Year staff and corps members, and listen to remarks from City Year's CEO and Co-Founder Michael Brown, Academy for Educational Development (AED) CEO and President Stephen Moseley, and DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Over 150 people attended this special event, which was sponsored by AED and Aramark.

Corps members Anna and Patrick pose for a picture with
DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee at City
Year Washington, DC's New Headquarters Reception.

City Year CEO and Co-Founder Michael Brown inspired guests by sharing his recollection of founding City Year 20 years ago in Boston and sharing his hopes for the future of City Year Washington, DC and National Service. DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee praised City Year corps members for the great work they do serving as tutors, mentors, and role models in DC Public Schools. In addition, Chancellor Rhee shared her thoughts on the success of the City Year and DCPS partnership: "There is no better investment that this District has made than what we've devoted to City Year Washington, DC and the work of corps members in our schools." Lastly, AED CEO and President Stephen Moseley, who helped subsidize City Year's new Headquarters, welcomed City Year to its new home in the AED building.

Weren't able to join us for the reception? Come to our Breakfast of Champions Open House event on Wednesday, January 14 at our new Headquarters. For more information or to RSVP, CLICK HERE.

HIGHLIGHTS

PEPSI RELEASES SECOND ANNUAL CITY YEAR PEPSI CAN

Next time you grab a cold can of Pepsi, don't be surprised if you see City Year! Pepsi recently released 500 million City Year Pepsi cans prominently displaying City Year's logo and new tagline: "give a year. change the world." This is the second year that Pepsi, one of City Year's National Leadership Sponsors, has promoted City Year on their cans to help spread awareness for the organization and inspire young people to give back to their community. The cans have already been released across the country, so be sure to look for them at a store near you!

 

HELP A MIDDLE OR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT JOIN THE HEROES PROGRAMS

Do you know a young person who wants to learn more about their community? Tell them about the Young Heroes and City Heroes programs! Young Heroes is a Saturday service-learning program for middle school students in the DC metro area. City Heroes builds off of the Young Heroes experience and is a Saturday service-learning program for high school students. Students who participate in the Heroes programs work on diverse teams to learn to work with people from different backgrounds, while giving back to their community. Each Saturday morning, the Heroes learn about a pressing social issue, and then spend the afternoon participating in a community service project related to that issue. Last year, the Heroes participated in activities such as cleaning and beautifying bike trails while learning about environmental issues, and making care packages for US Veterans recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center while learning about service.

Young Hereos and corps members tour the 
United States Capitol.

Xavier Norris, a proud graduate of the Young Heroes program, currently serves as a City Year Washington, DC corps member on The Case Foundation Heroes Team. This year, Xavier is helping to plan and lead Saturday sessions for the Young Heroes so that they can have a life changing experience just like he did. "Seeing what the Heroes team did last year had the biggest impact on my decision to become a corps member," said Xavier. "The program showed me my potential and what I can do for the world and the generations after me. I learned that no matter what age people are, they can make a difference. The corps members also influenced me to join City Year as a full-time corps member so that I too could touch a young person's life."

The program is free for participants and includes breakfast and lunch each Saturday. Students also earn a Heroes t-shirt, Timberland fleece, and the President's Volunteer Service Award upon completion of the program. Starting in January, the program meets three Saturdays a month from 10am-4pm through May. Each Hero participant typically serves over 80 hours during the 5-month program. The Heroes program still has a few slots available! The last application deadline is January 8, 2009. For more information or to download an application, CLICK HERE.

CITY YEAR'S FIRST FAMILY SERVICE DAY IS A HUGE SUCCESS

On Saturday, November 15, 2008, City Year Washington, DC held its first annual Family Service Day at Browne Gibbs Young Educational Campus in Northeast DC. City Year corps members, Browne Gibbs Young staff, and more than 75 external volunteers came out to help beautify the school's hallways. DC Councilmember Harry Thomas, DC Public Schools Deputy Chief of the Office of Teaching and Learning Ximena Hartsock, and Browne Gibbs Young Principal Keith Stephenson helped kick-off the day with inspirational remarks.

Volunteer Jean Martin and  her son Caleb serve on January 15.	Volunteers Mike and Reed Young paint a "Candy Bomber" mural.

The day included a range of projects for volunteers from three years old to 80 years old, all with the goal of providing an opportunity for families to serve the community together. Volunteers completed a number of projects, including painting airplane-themed murals in numerous hallways throughout the school. In addition to the mural projects, volunteers between the ages of three and nine (and their parents) participated in service-learning projects. The children painted colorful bricks that were used to edge the school's many trees and then decorated shoeboxes to take home and use as "giving boxes." Giving boxes are a way to teach children about giving back to the community by having them save their money all year long and then donate it to communities in need. City Year Washington, DC hopes to make the Family Service Day an annual event. The corps members on the Comcast team, who serve daily at Browne Gibbs Young Educational Campus, reported that the Monday after the project the staff and students were extremely pleased with their brightened hallways.

Are you interested in volunteering at a City Year service day? For more information, contact Lia Payne.

MLK WEEKEND IS CITY YEAR ALUMNI WEEKEND IN DC

 
Over 100 alumni attended MLK Homecoming Weekend last year.

The City Year Alumni Association of Washington, DC is hosting its third annual Alumni Homecoming Weekend January 16-19, 2009. The alumni weekend is a great way for alumni from all sites and years to come together for a weekend of reuniting, networking, and serving in Washington, DC. The events start on Friday, January 16 with an alumni-led community meeting at the City Year office (1875 Connecticut Ave, NW Suite 1130) followed by a happy hour at Lauriol Plaza on 18th street. There will be a "Night on the Town" event on Saturday, January 17 and a brunch on Sunday (at City Year Headquarters) to discuss the future of the National Service movement in the new administration. The weekend will culminate with a service event on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 19. Any alumni interested in attending or assisting with the events, please contact Alumni Board Member Courtney Swartz. 

IN THE NEWS

CITY YEAR HITS THE LOCAL AIRWAYS

On Saturday, December 13, City Year Washington, DC was featured on radio station WOL1450AM (www.wolam.com) from 8:00am to 8:45am. The radio show is hosted by Cynthia Hammond Davis who started The Light of the City Resource Center of Maryland, a nonprofit organization that helps students and parents, especially underrepresented and underserved individuals, with college, career, and financial planning. The radio talk show, The Light of the City College & Career Information Hour, airs every Saturday morning on WOL1450AM and www.wolam.com. The show features representatives from colleges and universities, career schools, and gap year organizations, as well as people in various careers. This past Saturday, Executive Director Jeff Franco, Admissions and Alumni Affairs Manager Harry Cheema, and corps member Becky Battistelli were interviewed by Davis about the mission and vision of City Year, how someone can become a corps member, and what it's like to be a corps member.  Do you know someone who may be interested in becoming a corps member? For more information, CLICK HERE or contact Harry Cheema.

CITY YEAR SERVICE PROJECT FEATURED ON FRONT PAGE OF THE WASHINGTON INFORMER

City Year Washington, DC's December 6th service project at Stanton Elementary School was featured in the December 11th issue of The Washington Informer. Corps members and volunteers spent the Saturday painting murals of local DC leaders around the school, including a mural of former DC Councilmember and The Washington Informer Founder, Wilhelmina Rolark. Missed it? To read the article online, CLICK HERE.