FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Johnny Barr
Mobile: 312-404-0828
Email: jbarr@cityyear.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, October 2, 2009
PRESS RELEASE
Research 125 YOUNG LEADERS FROM CITY YEAR CHICAGO KICK OFF
YEAR-LONG INITIATIVE TO ADDRESS THE DROPOUT CRISIS
Sponsorship from Deloitte to help fund more than 200,000 hours of service in local schools
(CHICAGO, IL)––At a special Opening Day ceremony today, City Year Chicago, the premiere leadership-development organization for youth ages 17 to 24, accepted the pledge of 125 young leaders to become City Year corps members and spend the next year working to address the dropout crisis in local schools. The new corps member, wearing City Year's signature red jackets, will each provide 1,700 hours of public service as tutors, mentors, and role models for children in Chicago schools and as leaders of physical service projects in Chicago communities. They are among a total of 1,500 young leaders from City Year pledging more than 2.5 million hours of service in cities across America.
"It is with gratitude we welcome these 125 young leaders to the responsibilities of citizen service," said City Year Chicago Executive Director Lisa Morrison Butler. "By pledging today to help Chicago students remain on track, our new corps members are helping ensure a brighter future for them tomorrow."
AIMING EFFORTS AT THE DROPOUT CRISIS
Recent findings from a comprehensive Johns Hopkins University study show that focused early intervention in the three key areas of attendance, behavior, and course performance keeps students from dropping out of high school later. Beginning with the 2009-2010 service year, City Year corps members in Chicago and across the country will emphasize the organization's new In School and On Track strategy, working directly with elementary and middle school students to help them succeed in these three areas.
City Year decided to focus its efforts on stemming the high school dropout crisis amid a year of reports from education think-tanks suggesting local and national dropout rates to be alarmingly high and worsening. The roll-out of the In School and On Track strategy will be enhanced by the support of Deloitte LLP, who are joining a roster of national leadership sponsors including ARAMARK, Bank of America, the Cisco Foundation, Comcast, CSX, Pepsi, Timberland, and T-Mobile USA.
“Deloitte is honored to join City Year and its corps members to kick off their year of service," said DELOITE LLP Chief Operating Officer Barry Salzberg. "Deloitte is committed to helping City Year address the dropout rate. We share the belief that keeping students on track, in the graduation pipeline today, will help create the business and civic leaders of tomorrow."
HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING
Today's Opening Day ceremony was held at Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago before an audience of business and civic leaders, family, and friends, with remarks from SERVE Illinois Executive Director Ted Gibbs, Deloitte LLP Director of Community Involvement Michael Mayo, and Comcast Greater Chicago Region Senior Vice President LeAnn Talbot.
In the hours prior to the ceremony, however, City Year Chicago's incoming corps members were already hard at work performing an Initial Service Day in Chicago's Pilsen community. New corps members spent Friday morning working on landscaping, interior and exterior painting, and mural projects alongside developmentally disabled adults from El Valor (www.elvalor.org) a Pilsen-based organization empowering people with disabilities.
DEVELOPING YOUNG LEADERS THROUGH PUBLIC SERVICE
This year, young leaders from City Year will perform their service hours at 12 schools and in seven Chicago neighborhoods, including Austin, Bronzeville, East Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing, North Kenwood, North Lawndale, and West Garfield Park. Corps members will also participate in signature City Year Chicago events including a Thanksgiving Service Day, a Martin Luther King, Jr., Service Day, Global Youth Service Day in April 2010, and a 100 Hours of Power simultaneous-service event in June 2010, culminating with a Graduation Ceremony on June 18, 2010.
While the public face of City Year is the many hours of service work pledged by its corps members, the main thrust of the organization is the development of committed young people into the leaders of tomorrow. By accepting the responsibility of public service over the course of a year, corps members discover their innate abilities to take a leading role in their communities and help make beneficial change happen.
"The biggest surprise is the moment it hits you that public service is a two-way street," said senior corps member Joseph Choinski. "You think you're transforming the lives of others, then one day you realize how deeply the work has transformed you, too."
City Year unites young people of all backgrounds between the ages of 17 and 24 for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world. As tutors, mentors, and role models, these diverse leaders make a difference in the lives of children and transform schools and neighborhoods at 19 locations across the United States and in Johannesburg, South Africa. City Year is a proud member of AmeriCorps. For more information, please visit www.cityyear.org/chicago.
Deloitte, as used in this document, means Deloitte LLP. For a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries, please visit www.deloitte.com/about.