FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2005
EXTREL-01-05
www.nyc.gov/dycd

NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, CITY YEAR NEW YORK, AND CHILDREN FOR CHILDREN LAUNCH YOUTHWEEK 2005

April 8, 2005 - The New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) in partnership with City Year New York and Children for Children today launched YouthWeek 2005, an annual event that brings together New York City’s youth, community groups and corporate leaders to focus on relevant issues concerning young people. This year YouthWeek 2005 highlights volunteerism and community service. The kick-off event held at John Jay College of Criminal Justice featured a discussion, focused on engaging young people in public service careers, where panelists shared experiences and discussed how participation in community service assisted in their professional goals. Joining DYCD Commissioner Jeanne Mullgrav at the event were City Year New York Co-Executive Director Ken Grouf and Fund for the City of New York Vice President Alfonso Wyatt.

“For young New Yorkers, community service is a valuable way of giving back to the neighborhoods, individuals and local organizations that have supported them in their development,” said DYCD Commissioner Jeanne B. Mullgrav. “The City of New York and DYCD are committed to encouraging young people to volunteer through service projects that are educational and engaging, and improve local communities in meaningful ways.”

“City Year is thrilled to be a part of this important discussion on the power of young people in New York City and beyond,” said City Year Co-Executive Director Ken Grouf. “It is especially powerful that the City of New York and DYCD have partnered with Children for Children and with City Year to promote the importance of young people’s service.”

“In the 'me, mine, mo' mine' era that we are in, it is wonderful to know that young people are proudly giving to others through community service and have no expectation of receiving anything in return,” said Vice President, Fund for the City of New York, Reverend Alfonso Wyatt. “These blessed individuals have discovered that giving is its own reward.”

Panelists included Eddie Bergman, founder Miracle Corners of the World; Raquel Wexler, United Nations Development Program; Mickey Correa, City Year Corps Member; Chris Brown, National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship and was moderated by Nazli Parvizi, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Volunteer Center.

Following the panel discussion, AmeriCorps sponsored the 2nd Annual Career Fair, which included representatives from Habitat for Humanity New York City, Dress for Success, and MTV’s Choose or Lose. They introduced community service opportunities, distributed information and shared their experiences with the attendees.

This year’s YouthWeek2005 includes three major events beginning on April 8, 2005, and will culminate with National Youth Service Day on Saturday, April 16, 2005. Together, DYCD, the Mayor’s Office of Volunteers, Children for Children and City Year New York will mobilize our City’s youth to learn, serve and represent their communities through various service projects.

Beginning on Saturday, April 9, five DYCD-supported afterschool beacon programs representing each borough will respectively host a community service event, such as “Healthy Kids Day” and intergenerational projects that link youth and seniors in community activities. Youth participants, staff, community members, parents, and public officials will participate. The schedule is as follows:

For additional information, please contact:

Michael Ognibene
Department of Youth and Community Development
212.442.6009