Community Improvement Through Youth (CITY) Project (May, 2006)
About the Project
The Community Improvement Through Youth (CITY) Project employs one of Cornell Cooperative Extensions Signature Programs, Youth Community Action (YCA) and utilizes a National 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System resource, Public Adventures: An Active Citizenship Curriculum for Youth.
YCA and CITY
YCA is an integral part of the land-grant university mission to develop citizens' capacities to solve problems and to build strong, vibrant communities. The CITY Project employs YCA as an intentional process to promote civic engagement, workforce preparation, and asset development among youth (13-18 years old).
Empowering At-Risk Youth
Through Public Adventures, YCA, and 4-H Youth Development, the CITY Project provides the opportunities and support youth need in order to meet the challenges of growing up in poverty. Using a broad-based community collaboration approach, the CITY Project will empower at-risk youth in two high-need community sites to become community change agents. CITY Teen Leaders will identify local problems/issues through community mapping, use technology (e.g., videography and GIS/GPS) and resources available through the Children, Youth and Families Education and Research Network (CYFERnet), to set achievable goals, and work in partnerships with caring adults to create lasting, sustainable changes in their communities. In addition, CITY Teen Leaders will gain workforce preparation skills through paid summer employment.
Executive Direction
The CITY Project is directed by the CYFAR SCP State Project Directors, Department of Human Development, Cornell University, and implemented in the two SCP Community Sites by the CITY Project Community Directors and Coordinators in Cornell University Cooperative Extension Broome County (CUCE-BC) and Cornell University Cooperative Extension, New York City (CUCE-NYC).