City Year DC Heroes: A brief look at their year

I took years of history and American government in school, but it wasn’t until I interned on Capitol Hill that I found myself really remembering facts and names about the people, players and process – and actually getting inspired about how democracy works.

That is exactly the fundamental element of service learning – combining learning with doing, and the City Year Washington, DC Heroes program does it better than most.

The Case Foundation is a proud sponsor of the City Year Washington, DC Heroes program, which guides middle and high school students from DC in learning about challenges in their communities, and then gives them an opportunity to take action on those issues – every week for a whole semester! I recently attended the Heroes graduation program, where more than 150 middle and high school students were recognized for more than 10,000 collective hours of service to their community. Other than being reminded that I am now the old guy when I walk into an auditorium of teens, I was excited and proud to see young people so enthusiastic about service and giving back.

Our City Year Heroes team sponsor liaison, Evan Waldt, a Pennsylvania native and Santé Fe College student, has been sending occasional brief updates on the team’s work throughout the year. These are much more fun to read than the long grant reports I get from City Year every year (you know, the ones with success metrics and budgets), so I am happy to share it with you in celebration of our team’s great work and to pass on some good ideas. I also have to brag about Evan. Not only was he a phenomenal speaker at the City Year graduation, but he also received the Long Walk Award for serving the most hours out of any corps member - over 2,000!

The Case Foundation Heroes Team 2010 End-of-Year Briefing By: Evan Waldt, Corps Member and Team Sponsor Liaison, The Case Foundation Heroes Team

YOUNG HEROES The Case Foundation Heroes team recruited and engaged 77 diverse middle school students in 5,700 hours of leadership development and service-learning. The Young Heroes participated in 18 Saturdays (including two overnight retreats) of service learning and community service, working with organizations such as Armed Forces Retirement Home, Emmaus Services for the Aging, Jewish Foundation for Group Homes, Martha’s Table, National Coalition for the Homeless, So Others Might Eat, Thomas Circle Retirement Home, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Additionally, 70 Young Heroes were awarded the Presidential Volunteer Service Awards for their service to the community. The Young Heroes team also hosted a Gallery Walk where 90% of all of the Young Heroes families came to view the work that their Young Hero achieved since January.

CITY HEROES The City Heroes team engaged 85 high school students in 6,200 hours of rigorous service-learning and leadership development. The City Heroes participated in 18 Saturdays, including two overnight retreats. The City Heroes engaged over 10 local and national service partners, and 78 City Heroes receive the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. One of our most recent days of service that really got our City Heroes engaged, was our Celebration of Service. We took them to the Hirschon Art Gallery, the Air and Space Museum, and to the Fiesta Asia Street Festival. The City Heroes enjoyed learning about new cultures and spending time together with all of the new friends they made in the program.

OUR LIFE AFTER CITY YEAR Our time spent together has been challenging and made us come together more than we ever thought possible. I have made friendships that I feel are going to last a lifetime. Every day that I have put on my Red Jacket I have found passions and lessons. Because of this, Janae and I have decided to return for another year of service with City Year. As for the rest of my teammates, Andres has excepted a position teaching in DC Public Schools, Dana is going to medical school, David is going to school to finish his bachelors degree, Thanh is joining the National Outdoor Leadership School, Julliane and Peter are looking for a careers in the non-profit field, and Samantha has just joined the staff team at City Year Washington, DC. We are all looking forward to the new opportunities ahead of us. Thank you for all your support this year!