You Must Know About: City Year

One of my goals for Smart Girls Know is to highlight important organizations working with or for teens to create change. There’s no better example than City Year, an organization which brings together young people for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world. Youth corps members serve as tutors or mentors in schools, run after-school programs, and lead and develop youth leadership programs to make a difference in the lives of children and their communities.

More than 1,400 young people ages 17-24 participate in 17 cities nationwide every year, and while participants are technically volunteers, City Year offers benefits such as:

• Educational Stipend: Corps members receive an education award of $4,725 through AmeriCorps at the end of service.
• Federal Student Loan Deferment: Student loans can be put into forbearance during the term of service.
• Heath Insurance: Corps members are covered during active service.
• T-Mobile Cell Phone: Corps member get a free cell phone and service for the duration of the service year.

Sound interesting? City Year is holding open houses throughout the U.S. on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 for people who want to learn more. Open houses will be held in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbia, Columbus, Detroit, Little Rock/North Little Rock, Los Angeles, Louisiana, Miami, New Hampshire, New York, Greater Philadelphia, Rhode Island, San Antonio, San Jose/Silicon Valley, Seattle/King County,Washington, DC .

Or, visit the City Year website to find out more!