President Bill Clinton to Accept Legacy Award at City Year's 25th Anniversary Gala on May 22

BOSTON, April 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Bill Clinton will accept the Legacy Award at City Year's 25^th Anniversary Gala on May 22 at Boston Symphony Hall.  City Year is honoring President Clinton for his extraordinary leadership of national service, his longtime support of City Year in the U.S. and his role in the founding of City Year South Africa. 

"We are deeply grateful to President Clinton for his extraordinary belief in the power of diverse idealistic young people to change the world, and for his remarkable support of City Year.  His unwavering commitment and his visionary leadership have been a powerful force in City Year's expansion from one city in the United States to twenty five across this country and all the way across the globe to Johannesburg, South Africa," said Michael Brown, CEO and Co-Founder of City Year.

In 1993, President Clinton signed the National Community Service and Trust Act and launched AmeriCorps, noting that the responsibility of each individual to give back to his or her community was the foundation of American freedom. Since its inception, more than 820,000 men and women have taken the AmeriCorps pledge, serving more than one billion hours and improving the lives of countless Americans.  AmeriCorps has been the driving force in City Year's expansion from one city to twenty-five cities nationwide. Today, 2,700 City Year AmeriCorps members are serving as full-time tutors, mentors and role models to more than 150,000 students in 242 schools across the country. After leaving the White House, President Clinton established the Clinton Foundation with the mission to improve global health, strengthen economies, promote healthier childhoods, and protect the environment by fostering partnerships among governments, businesses, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and private citizens to turn good intentions into measurable results.

In 2001, President Clinton inspired the creation of City Year's first international affiliate in Johannesburg, South Africa.  He invited representatives and alumni from City Year to travel to South Africa with him for a conference on civil society.  During the visit, President Mandela asked President Clinton and the City Year delegation to help South Africa create a national service program for young South Africans. The visit inspired the creation of the Clinton Democracy Fellowship at City Year, a program designed to engage young South African leaders in envisioning a role for national service as a force for uniting their country and mobilizing young people to address the challenges facing the new South Africa.  As a result of that effort, leaders in South Africa asked City Year to open its first international program in Johannesburg. 

Since 2005, more than 1,400 young people have served through City Year South Africa. And in 2006, City Year made a Clinton Global Initiative commitment to expand City Year South Africa (CYSoA) by 50%. As a part of their commitment, CYSoA is training and deploying more than 165 young leaders in a year of full-time citizen service focused on addressing critical issues facing their country and placing more than 70% of them in jobs, apprenticeships and higher education following their year of service.

"We are tremendously honored to express our gratitude to President Clinton for all that he has done to build City Year, found AmeriCorps, and to inspire thousands of young people to serve their community and country, here in the United States and around the world," said Jonathan Lavine, Chair of the City Year Board of Trustees and Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Sankaty Advisors, the credit affiliate of Bain Capital.

An evening of music, inspiration and celebration of City Year's 25 years of service and impact, City Year's 25th Anniversary Gala, presented by Bain Capital, will be an exciting benefit with the Boston Pops, special guests and more than 2,000 attendees from around the country.

In addition to Bain Capital's Presenting Sponsorship, Summit Partners will serve as the event's Premier Sponsor. A complete list of event sponsors will be released in May. For more information on sponsorship and tickets, please contact Nina Barker, [email protected].

About City Year: City Year is an education-focused, nonprofit organization founded in 1988 that partners with public schools and teachers to help keep students in school and on track to succeed.  In 25 communities across the United States and through two international affiliates, this innovative public-private partnership brings together teams of young AmeriCorps members who commit to a year of full-time service in schools. Corps members provide individual support to students who need extra care and attention, focusing on attendance, behavior, and course performance through in-class tutoring, mentoring, and after school programs.

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SOURCE City Year