Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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" Not on my watch is that kid going to slip through the cracks." MICHAEL BROWN PHOTOGRAPHY BY HEATHER MCGRATH Michael Brown and Jonathan Lavine talk with kids at Elihu Greenwood Leadership Academy in Hyde Park. Corps Values AS CITY YEAR CELEBRATES 25 YEARS AT ITS MAY 22 GALA, COFOUNDER MICHAEL BROWN AND BOARD CHAIR JONATHAN LAVINE DISCUSS HOW THEY HELP TRANSFORM ATRISK STUDENTS INTO ACADEMIC ACHIEVERS. BY MATT STEWART A s a junior at Harvard University in 1982, Michael Brown was first inspired by the concept of voluntary public service while taking the year off from his studies to work for Congressman Leon Panetta. The California rep- resentative had proposed legislation that would provide stipends and other assistance for young adults who pledged a year or more of their lives to community service in America. "This would give young Americans from all different backgrounds a shared experience and idealism," says Brown. "I thought that was the most amazing thing." The idea percolated in the back of Brown's mind until 1988, when he and his Harvard Law School room- mate, Alan Khazei, decided to launch City Year in Boston with a mission of harnessing the opti- mism and energy of the nation's youth to give a year of their lives to serve the community. Several years later Brown's passion for public service touched a fellow Harvard student when Jonathan Lavine heard him speak at HBS. Lavine now serves as City Year's national board chair, over- seeing the program in Boston and 24 other cities across the nation. Nationwide an estimated 1 million students drop out of school each year. Half of those kids come from 12 percent of schools. The gradua- tion rate in Boston Public Schools has increased recently, but is still just slightly above 65 percent, while an estimated 35 percent of students cur- rently in grades three through nine are off track to graduate on time. Poverty plays a big role, as it often leads to family and community stresses such as homelessness, crime, and food insecurity. Low educational attainment is concentrated in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan, communi- ties where 42 percent of children live in poverty. Over the past 25 years, City Year has grown from being a grassroots, general service organization in Boston to one that focuses on students who are at risk of dropping out. This mission to target public continued on page 58 schools that are most distressed is carried out by a troop of young adults between the ages of 17 and 24, who work full-time tutoring and mentoring stu- dents in the most challenged schools during their year of service. City Year's signature red jackets are often described as a beacon of hope for the children within these communities. Michael Brown: Alan and I decided after law school to start an organization with the concept that, just like you do a junior year or a senior year [program], why not do a City Year? It would be an "action tank" for national service—a combina- tion of a think tank that works on an idea, and a program that is demonstrating and improving it. We asked companies to sponsor teams, and were successful. We ran a pilot program for 10 weeks over the summer of 1988 and raised $200,000 from a standing start. We spent a year developing the pilot until July 1989, when we launched the first full City Year. Jonathan Lavine: I met you and Alan when you came to speak to my business school section at Harvard in 1991. How could I not do my best to help? My first donation to City Year was $18. MB: When we put out our prospectus for a fundrais- ing campaign in 2012, you gave the first $10 million 56 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY 056-058_BC_SP_SOG_LteSpr14.indd 56 4/4/14 6:55 PM