An "action tank" for national service, City Year seeks to demonstrate, improve and promote the concept of national service as a means for building a stronger democracy. An action tank is both a program and a think tank - constantly combining theory and practice to advance new policy ideas, make programmatic breakthroughs, and bring about major changes in society.

City Year's vision is that one day, the most commonly asked question of a young person will be, "Where are you going to do your service year?"


City Year works toward the full realization of this vision through three core activities:

• Running a full-time youth service corps
  City Year’s signature program, the City Year youth service corps, unites more than 1,200 young adults, ages 17-24, from diverse backgrounds for a demanding year of full-time community service, leadership development, and civic engagement. These young leaders put their idealism to work as tutors and mentors to school children, reclaiming public spaces, and organizing after-school programs, school vacation camps, and the Starfish Corps, Young Heroes, and City Heroes programs.
  
  
• Engaging citizens in service through large-scale, high-impact community events
  City Year seeks to be a catalyst – a mechanism to engage people and institutions in the citizen service movement. Through events like the City Year Serve-a-thon and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, City Year unites thousands of people each year in completing critical service projects to revitalize their communities, fostering a spirit of civic engagement and bringing together community members from all walks of life.
  
  
• Leading discussion and development of national service policies and initiatives
  City Year also pursues its vision through public policy outreach and international initiatives, promoting the concept of citizen service, engaging policymakers, providing leadership to Voices for National Service, and securing support for AmeriCorps. By generating new, innovative policy ideas and leading discussion around these ideas, City Year seeks to build awareness and support for citizen service among leaders and key stakeholders across the country and the world.
  
  

Founded in Boston in 1988, City Year has established programs in Boston; Chicago; Cleveland; Columbia, SC; Columbus; Detroit; Little Rock, Louisiana; New Hampshire; New York; Philadelphia; Rhode Island; San Antonio; San José/Silicon Valley; Seattle/King County; South Africa; and Washington, DC. City Year’s National Leadership Sponsors are Bank of America, Comcast, CSX, Pepperidge Farm, The Timberland Company, and T-Mobile. City Year is a proud member of AmeriCorps.