2,500 Student Heroes Nationwide Kick Off Service with City Year
Sponsored by Bank of America
January 19, 2009 - .jpg "Young Heroes Bank of America logo")
Today, City Year is leading high-energy events at locations across America that will honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., embody the President-elect’s commitment to national service and celebrate more than 2,500 middle school and high school students dedicated to maintaining his legacy through citizen service. The 2,500 students pledging to serve community and country through City Year’s Young Heroes and City Heroes programs will be led by City Year corps members, who are engaged in a year of full-time service as tutors, mentors, role models and leaders of after-school programs.
Young Heroes is a leadership development and community service program for 6-8th grade students. Bank of America is the National Lead Partner of the City Year Young Heroes Program. On Saturdays from January to May, corps members teach middle school students about how to become active in their communities and contribute to the students’ belief in their own ability to make a difference. These young people come together to work in diverse teams of eight to 12, serve a minimum of 80 hours and, in the process, earn the President’s Volunteer Service Award. Participants learn about the social issues in their communities and help address them through hands on community service.
In addition, high school students will kick off their five month program, serving as City Heroes who learn about social challenges and what they can do to address them. As a weekend leadership development and social awareness program for 9-12th grade students, participants learn to lead others in tackling issues that directly affect their communities.
“Bank of America is making it possible for thousands of middle school students to serve as Young Heroes across the country. Over the next five months, these students will be given the tools and opportunities to create positive change and make a difference in their communities,” said Michael Brown, CEO and Co-Founder, City Year, Inc. “As City Year celebrates our 20th year of serving schools and neighborhoods, we are deeply grateful to Bank of America for their landmark support of the Young Heroes program and enabling young leaders to begin a lifetime of active citizenship.”
“We are inspired by the young leaders who are making a difference in their community by serving as City Year Young Heroes. Together, Bank of America and City Year can better provide local citizens and youth with opportunities to change their communities and continue a long tradition of community investment that enables our neighbors to attain their potential and dreams,” said Kerry Sullivan, National Philanthropy Executive for Bank of America Charitable Foundation.
Immediately after taking their pledge to serve, the Young Heroes and City Heroes will join City Year corps members, friends, family, community volunteers and corporate partners in service. Thousands of volunteers, led by City Year corps members, are engaging in an array of projects such as organizing libraries, painting murals, landscaping gardens, building bookshelves for classrooms and senior centers and conducting youth-led marches to celebrate peace and honor the legacy of Dr. King.
Guest speakers included representatives from Bank of America, family and friends of the students pledging to service and special guests, including:
City Year Boston: Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, State of Massachusetts
City Year Los Angeles: Deputy Superintendent Ray Cortines, Los Angeles Unified School District
City Year Miami: Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, City of Miami
City Year San Antonio: Thomas Ellis, Tuskegee Airman
City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley: Bryant Young, Former NFL Player, San Francisco 49ers
To learn more about City Year and how diverse corps members unite as tutors, mentors and role models, who make a difference in the lives of children and transform schools and neighborhoods across the United States and in South Africa, please visit www.cityyear.org.
For more information about Bank of America’s commitment to philanthropy, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 59 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 6,100 retail banking offices, nearly 18,700 ATMs and award-winning online banking with nearly 29 million active users. Following the acquisition of Merrill Lynch on January 1, 2009, Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to more than 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
About City Year
City Year unites young people 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 young leaders make a difference in the lives of children and transform schools and neighborhoods across the United States and in South Africa. Founded in Boston in 1988, City Year has established programs in Boston; Chicago; Cleveland; Columbia, SC; 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; South Africa and Washington, D.C. City Year is a proud member of AmeriCorps. For more information, please visit www.cityyear.org.