Rochester Youth Year

The Challenge

Urban youth in Rochester face extraordinary challenges rooted in extreme poverty. In 2000, the region ranked 11th in the nation for highest poverty rate among children. To compliment the existing programs and services offered by the area’s local colleges and universities s consortium has developed the Rochester Youth Year, a one year internship opportunity for recent college graduates in the Rochester area.

Rochester Youth Year (RYY) combines the talent and expertise of community agencies, students, faculty and administrators to create and enhance the resources and support systems available for Rochester’s youth. The program is the product of collaborative efforts between the University of Rochester, The College at Brockport - SUNY, Nazareth College, Roberts Wesleyan College, Rochester Institute of Technology, St. John Fisher College, and SUNY Geneseo.

The Goals

  1. Strengthen the capacity of participating institutions to collaborate by bringing their diverse resources to focused activities
  2. Retain talented recent college graduates in Rochester for a year of service in high-impact community-based projects which meet the needs of our city’s youth
  3. Mobilize undergraduate students, working alongside Youth Year Fellows and urban youth agencies, and prepare them for a lifetime of civic leadership in Rochester and beyond
  4. Develop a sustainable leadership training and volunteer preparation/recruitment program for the area’s talented and energetic college students

The Opportunity

Youth Year Fellows will become full-time staff members at their agency beginning in June the summer after graduation. Along with the agency training they receive, Fellows will participate in the Urban Fellows program, spending one day each week in faculty led seminars focused on a variety of urban issues including housing, health care, safety and education. In the afternoon the Fellows will meet local civic leaders and attend community events as they begin to immerse themselves in the life of the City.

Throughout their year of service Fellows will continue to meet for additional training and have a role assisting with a leadership seminar called “Leader to Leader.” Featuring a variety of local and national figures discussing their views and experiences on leadership and civic engagement, the course will also include readings that explore the history, theory and practice of leadership. Course speakers include newspaper editors, heads of arts organizations, leaders in the field of healthcare, and presidents of universities. Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks and Arun Ghandi were just two of the pilot semester’s highlights. The course will be open to undergraduates from area colleges and the Fellows will help organize and run these seminars. A central part of the Fellows’ work as Teaching Assistance will be assistance to the undergraduate students for their community based activities and projects.

The Rochester Youth Year program will provide an unusual opportunity for recent college graduates to engage in their community and provide much needed service to the youth of Rochester. It will also offer a rare opportunity for them to become immersed in the life of the city as well as connected to civic leaders of every variety and stripe. Throughout the year, the program staff will work to develop special opportunities for Fellows to network with potential employers and young professionals living in the area.

Rochester Youth Year is a program designed for recent college graduates who are interested in discovering the ways they can give, live, learn and earn in Rochester.

Youth Year Fellows will begin full time at their agencies
on August 4, 2008.
The Rochester Youth Year Fellowship is now an AmeriCorps sponsored program. Applications for candidates will be processed on a rolling basis beginning April 1, 2008. Deadline for consideration is May 9, 2008.

For more information please contact:
Sam Nichols
AmeriCorps*VISTA
Project Coordinator for Rochester Youth Year
Phone: (585) 275-4085
snichols@ur.rochester.edu