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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Paolo Baltar, right, Van Anh Dang, center, and Miles Mendoza participate in a Pledge of Service during the Young Heroes 2001 opening day ceremony, held at Columbia Neighborhood Center.
Helping Hands
By Daniel Hindin
City Year, a nationwide volunteer organization that focuses on pressing social problems and meeting community needs, kicked off the extension of its Young Heroes program to the Sunnyvale area with a special Martin Luther King Jr. Day flower planting project on Jan. 15.
City Year developed Young Heroes as a service-learning program for middle school students. The Young Heroes program has existed in San Jose since 1996, but increasing interest in the Sunnyvale area resulted in the expansion of the program.
"So many kids were coming from Sunnyvale to San Jose to participate in the program that we decided to run a separate program here," says City Year project leader Kasie Johnson. "We were originally hoping to recruit 60 kids from the area into the program, but we ended up getting more than 80."
The Young Heroes will participate in 17 more Saturday community service events organized through the Columbia Neighborhood Center (CNC), located next to Columbia Middle School. City Year strives to help middle school students develop strong leadership skills and a sense of civic responsibility.
Rocio Abudis-Rodriguez, site manager of the CNC, said, "The program will challenge and stimulate the students to think and act in new ways."
The 88 youngsters from Sunnyvale and surrounding communities, along with many City Year volunteers, convened at 8:30 a.m. at Columbia Middle School on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, where they watched a film about King and his legacy. From there, the volunteers went to Fairwood Elementary School where they spent several hours planting flowers along the greenbelt. Afterwards, they attended a ceremony at the CNC where they were honored in front of their families and other members of the community.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Kieran Mathew, left, clowns around with a flower pot on his head, as Billy Stephens, top right, and Paul Staley, with City Year, look on. Kieran and Billy are both members of the Young Heroes program, an innovative leadership development program led by City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley.
The young volunteers remained enthusiastic throughout the entire 9-hour day.
"I had been looking for some sort of community service to do and then City Year came and did a presentation at my school," said 13-year-old Kieran Mathew of Cupertino's Hyde Middle School.
"I like helping people," he adds.
"I want to help my community," simply stated 11-year-old Billy Stephens, of Sunnyvale's Columbia Middle School.
The Young Heroes' motto, "Serve Yourself, Serve Your Community, Serve Your World," represents the progression of the five-month program. The first two months concentrate on public speaking, diversity and team-building. The next two months focus on community-building, disability awareness and National Youth Service Day. And the final month includes Earth Day, human rights and future service opportunities.
Many of the Young Heroes can someday continue their service through City Year. Part of AmeriCorps, City Year gives volunteers between the ages of 17 and 24 the opportunity to serve in one of many U.S. cities for 10 months, in return for housing and a monetary bonus to be used toward college tuition or student loans.
"City Year is a way to be productive while deciding what you want to do in the future," says 19-year-old City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley volunteer Paul Staly. Staly and his best friend Josh Flint traveled from their home state of Maine to take part in the program, while taking a year off between high school and college. Both hope to attend college in California next fall.
City Year volunteers can choose from many options to help the community. "It really depends on how much you put into it," Staly says. "It's your choice what kind of experience you want to get out of it."
Staly and Flint help run a day camp for "off-track" youths in San Jose. Rachel Esslinger, of Ohio, volunteers at Columbia Middle School through City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley. She helps out in an English as a Second Language classroom, runs after-school programs and tutors students at Columbia's homework center.
City Year and Young Heroes always want more volunteers, and they encourage diversity in their program. To find out more about Young Heroes, City Year or AmeriCorps, call 408.294.3041, or visit www.cityyear.org.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
