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City Year offers a fantastic gap year experience

City Year AmeriCorps in school service

City Year offers a fantastic gap year experience.

Join us.

Whether you are a recent high school grad looking for a meaningful experience to help you decide next steps or a college student eager to build valuable skills, City Year is offering something you can count on—a year of service—with a team of empathetic, inspiring and talented young adults who are eager to not only make a difference but also to grow, develop and reach new goals.

And you will receive benefits along the way—such as a stipend, relocation costs, health insurance, access to exclusive scholarships and an education award worth $6,495 to use when you go or return to postsecondary training, college or grad school.

Learn more about why City Year is raising its biweekly stipend in the coming school year.

Each year, City Year recruits 3,000 young people who become AmeriCorps members and serve in public schools full time as student success coaches—near-peer tutors, mentors and role models who help students feel connected to school, take ownership of their learning and stay on track to high school graduation.

Despite the challenges brought by COVID-19, City Year AmeriCorps members have found new ways to serve their students and support classrooms, providing critical additional capacity when schools need it most.

Student success coaches are having a positive impact on students and schools, according to feedback from our partner teachers and principals.

If you are a recent high school graduate who is uncertain about your plans for the fall, or a current college student who is weighing their options or eager try something new, City Year can offer you a valuable, challenging and meaningful gap year experience.

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Why City Year is the gold standard for gap year programs.

Despite disruptions caused by the pandemic, our students continue to dream big and strive for academic success. And while they do, City Year AmeriCorps members’ shift to virtual service ensures they’re still supporting students every day.

Right now, we are focused on recruiting, training and supporting a new cohort of AmeriCorps members to serve in the 2022-2023 school year—an experience that can be as powerful for you as for the students you serve.

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Check out this new video that captures the joy and connection of serving students with City Year during the pandemic.

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Three reasons to join City Year for an unforgettable gap year

There are many reasons why 37,000 alumni have chosen to serve with City Year over the past three decades. Here are the top three you may want to consider.

Serving with City Year:

1. Cultivates skills and experience that will help you meet your goals—personal, academic and professional.

You will be challenged, have fun and learn a lot if you choose City Year. You will also gain critical skills that are in demand by employers, whatever career you choose to pursue, such as teamwork, problem solving and collaboration.

One alum, now a state legislator in New Hampshire, calls City Year a “leadership laboratory” and says the decision to join as an AmeriCorps member “was the first and very best decision I’ve made in my career.”

AmeriCorps members receive more than 300 hours of training throughout their service year and our alumni say the experience helped them to cultivate skills and networks that have helped them succeed across a wide array of professions.

Read more about all the ways City Year’s 37,000 alumni continue to make a difference where they live and work.

2. Means you are part of a close-knit team of your peers, in the city of your choice.

Unlike some national service programs, City Year AmeriCorps members serve in teams, learning together, challenging one another and creating bonds that can last a lifetime. Building these kinds of relationships at this moment in time is a powerful and valuable asset, as so many people are feeling alone and disoriented.

City Year serves in 29 U.S. cities, so chances are, we are serving schools in your community or a community near you. Or perhaps you want a complete change—a move to a new place. City Year can help with relocation costs.

Explore what you can expect if you join City Year.

3. Brings flexibility and financial benefits, including a stipend, access to exclusive scholarships and a valuable education grant to put toward past or future studies.

While you will be modestly compensated for your service through a bi-weekly stipend, you will receive other benefits to help off-set some living expenses such as free health insurance during your service.

And you will receive access to dozens of scholarships for City Year alumni as well as a Segal Education Award that can be used for college expenses, debt or  educational travel— it’s up to you.

Learn more about all the ways you can use the Segal Education Award.

A group of AmeriCorps members chat as they walk across the school playground.

At a time when many things are uncertain, one thing is for sure: City Year will be there for students and for our AmeriCorps members in the next school year.

Join us for your gap year.

Learn more

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