Changing Cleveland. Changing the World!
Since 1996, City Year Cleveland has had a powerful and profound impact on the lives of tens of thousands of children:
- More than 850 corps members have graduated from City Year Cleveland delivering 1,445,000 hours of service.
- More than 36,000 children have participated in our and youth development and leadership programs.
- More than 2,000 children have been served through Spring Camps, a week-long camp for elementary school children during spring school break.
- Corps members have led more than 10,000 community and business employee volunteers to contribute 80,000 hours of service to the community.
History
In 1992, Mayor Michael White developed the Bicentennial Commission to begin planning Cleveland’s 1996 Bicentennial Celebration. In 1993, the Commission wrote an open letter to the city in the Cleveland Plain Dealer requesting ideas for programs and venues for the celebration. In response, Deborah Coleman, partner at Hahn Loeser & Parks, wrote about leaving a lasting legacy to the city, rather than just fireworks and a party. Her specific recommendation was to bring a nationally-recognized youth leadership program to Cleveland. As a result, City Year Cleveland was launched in the fall of 1996 as a lasting legacy of Cleveland’s Bicentennial Celebration and has worked tirelessly for twelve years to create and implement innovative solutions for the most pressing issues facing Cleveland’s school children.