FALL 2025
A Message from City Year: Your Support in Action
With your support, student success coaches are serving in hundreds of schools across City Year’s 29 U.S. sites.
They’re providing the tutoring and mentoring that help students more deeply engage with their learning and stay on track to graduate from high school, prepared for college and career success.
Our promise to you is that City Year and our partners are doing everything we can to ensure that students will be served by well-trained student success coaches not just this year, but for many years to come. With your support, we can remain committed to serving students who need us most.
In this issue of the City Year newsletter, we feature stories of people who have seen firsthand how AmeriCorps and City Year have made a difference in their schools and lives.
Every contribution makes a difference.
From Mentee to Mentor — Liam’s Story
What motivated Liam to apply to be a City Year AmeriCorps member? “When I was young I also had a favorite City Year member myself, and they encouraged me to keep going. Now I just want to give back. I see myself as a big brother, you know, to some of the students I work with as well.”
As an AmeriCorps member, Liam sees himself making the biggest impact not just in a single classroom but on the entire student body.
“The fact that teachers could say, ‘Hey, Mr. Liam, I need you to help me out with one of these students,’ made me feel good. Being here every single day proves to these students that we’re not just here for the money — we’re here for you.”
Joy Is in the House
Joy Twagirayezu was a recent college graduate from the University at Buffalo with a bachelor’s in health and human services, child and family studies. She took a gap year and decided to apply to City Year to serve as an AmeriCorps member, supporting students in schools.
Joy’s partner teacher is Robin Pedone, who teaches fifth-grade English-as-a-new-language. “Having Joy here in the classroom allows me to ensure that everybody’s growing. And not just those who are falling through the cracks, but we can also push the kids that are on grade level to a higher level.”
When young people commit to a City Year, they not only experience a deep and meaningful year of service, but they also get to reap the benefits of connecting with their local community in a significant way.
According to City Year Buffalo Executive Director Jacqueline Ashby, “We really need the Western New York community to understand the significance of spending a year of service and how that can be a leap year that propels young people into their future.”
Principal Credits City Year in School Grade Improvement from ‘F’ to ‘B’
According to Adriene Anderson, principal of Catalina Elementary School in Orlando, the addition of City Year student success coaches to school classrooms has made all the difference. “This is my first year as a principal and my first year working with City Year and I am very privileged to have City Year on my campus,” Principal Anderson said.
“Three years ago, Catalina Elementary was an ‘F’ school. This year, the school achieved a school grade of a ‘B.’ And I can attribute part of that success to City Year being here on our campus. They play a very vital role in helping with student success and building that culture within our school.”
City Year Can Accelerate Your Career
City Year Orlando AmeriCorps member Francisco Mones Peña attended a lunch at Walker Middle School where he met the site’s board chair, John Pisan. They got to talking about Francisco’s plans after his service with City Year, and Francisco mentioned he was interested in getting into financial services. “Why didn’t you talk to me sooner?” John asked.
He then brought Francisco to meet some leaders at Fifth Third Private Bank, where he is managing director, and explored job opportunities. “There was no second thought,” said John. “He was the right person.” Now a mortgage professional at Fifth Third Private Bank, Francisco remains connected to his City Year site.
He credits his personal development during his City Year for the strides he has made in his professional life. It’s one of the “main drivers for me wanting to stay involved (in City Year Orlando) and trying to have more people join the program and experience it.”
Student Success Coaching Leads to Teaching Career
Sixth grader Alexandra Steinberg was in Alicia Garcia’s International Baccalaureate (IB) science class.
Alexandra’s mom, Ivelisse, says, “Ms. Garcia was the first teacher that not only ignited Alexandra’s love for science, but she took Alex out of her shell.”
Now City Year Orlando’s director of service and learning, Alicia says her City Year student success coach experience was life-changing and “was the domino effect which led me to become a teacher.”
Alicia says that she is grateful for the opportunity to train new AmeriCorps members and provide them with the skills they need to be successful. “City Year helped to instill confidence in my leadership that I don’t think I would have gotten otherwise.”
Year of Service Serves Wider Audience
City Year is recruiting young people who want to commit to a school year of service in a community where students need a near-peer mentor in their lives. AmeriCorps members develop “soft skills” that are valuable in the workplace such as flexibility, resiliency, leadership and proficiency in a goal-oriented environment. Having real-world experience in an environment that involves real-time problem-solving skills can make the difference with hiring decisions.
“Every young student in our school needs to have a trusted adult that they can turn to. And having City Year in our school just increases that number.”
— Garrick Loveria, deputy superintendent/COO at the Charter School for Applied Technologies in Buffalo
We welcome a conversation with a young person in your life who is considering a year of service. Visit cityyear.org to learn more.
Evidence-based Impact
A series of studies on City Year’s holistic approach by the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University found that our student success coaches have a positive impact on student academic outcomes, interpersonal skill development and attendance.
Other research has found that City Year’s Whole School, Whole Child® approach helps students stay on track to high school graduation — a critical outcome for adult success.
Learn more about City Year’s evidence of impact: https://www.cityyear.org/impact/evidence-of-city-years-impact/.
City Year, Inc. is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization (Tax ID Number: 22-2882549) and your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, we will follow up with a tax receipt which will show your tax-deductible portion according to IRS guidelines.
How can I make a gift of stock/securities? If you would like to make a gift of securities, please contact Andrew Kent at [email protected] or (617) 927-2364.
Can I pay through my donor-advised fund? Yes, we ask that you have your donor-advised fund gift sent to: Bank of America Lockbox Services City Year Inc. 412755, MA527-08-07, 2 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester, MA 02125
Would you like to donate immediately? Click here to be directed to our donation page.
