idealist.org

City Year was founded in 1988 on the belief that young people can change the world. The organization unites 17-24 year olds of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world. As tutors, mentors, and role models, these idealistic leaders make a difference in the lives of children, and transform schools and neighborhoods in 18 U.S. locations and in South Africa. This year, more than 1,500 City Year corps members are serving on diverse teams in schools and communities. City Year received more than 7,000 applications for 1,550 corps member positions for the 2009-2010 program year.

City Year is committed to engaging community members, corporate partners, and civic leaders in this work, and together we’re building a citizen service movement that is larger than our organization, our lifetime, and ourselves. City Year’s vision is that one day the most commonly asked question of a young person will be, “Where are you going to do your service year?”

Through our “In School and On Track” strategy, and our “Whole School, Whole Child” service model, City Year is focused on significantly reducing the high school dropout rate in each of our target cities. We have the aggressive goal of expanding to 6,000 corps members over the next several years, to get 50% of off-track public school in students each of our target cities back on track to graduate from high school.