My loving family, thoughtful educators, and compassionate friends inspired and prepared me for two wonderful years of service with City Year. As a City Year Philadelphia AmeriCorps Member, I was taught to be considerate, patient, and forever kind for the students I tutored and mentored. I too was supported and molded to be better situated to make an impact and I am eternally grateful to have been able to serve with my team and the whole City Year Philadelphia community. CY Philly gave me the resilience to fight for progress. 

Quality leadership from my Impact Manager led me to a second year of service with City Year's Care Force in Boston. As City Year Vice President and Dean Charlie Rose famously states, "Care Force is a Rare Force". Charlie is exaclty right in the fact that Care Force is able to send ripples through our national and global communities through physcial, volunteer service. Through this service, I was able to engage volunteers around the country to beautify learning spaces to inspire our nation's students. My service with Care Force forever changed my global outlook, my personal abilities, and my belief in myself. 

Service means many things to those who answer the call, but the common factor is the belief in the prospects of our students. During this unprecedented time, the support City Year AmeriCorps Members can provide to Boston students is as critical as ever. Thank you for your consideration and support!

"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country."

John F. Kennedy 

In March, Boston Public Schools (BPS) announced the closure of all 125 schools citywide. These school closures left 50,000 Boston students without access to in-person schooling.  City Year Boston is working closely with BPS to provide innovative distance learning opportunities to students, adapting our Whole School Whole Child program model to suit virtual spaces.

While teachers continue to provide whole-class instruction using platforms like Google Classroom or Zoom, City Year’s AmeriCorps members are providing academic supports in English language arts/literacy and math by facilitating breakout groups, answering questions, and leading enrichment activities.  Our corps members are assisting teachers in planning lessons and reviewing students’ assignments and holding office hours to provide one-on-one and small-group tutoring.  Importantly, our AmeriCorps members are also supporting students’ social-emotional health and placing phone calls home to students and their families as a way to build connectedness, troubleshoot, and communicate updates. 

City Year Boston is one of the only partners to support Boston Public School students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic

City Year’s support of virtual classrooms is a pivotal step in preventing learning loss and generating opportunities for new learning, as well as ensuring greater equity of experience among families who may not otherwise have the ability to facilitate in-home instruction.  Beyond this school year, City Year will continue to engage in the virtual space to support BPS students and will be in schools next year to support students when they will need more than ever.