Earlier this summer, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the graduation of 22 Green City Force AmeriCorps members in New York City. Green City Force recruits young adults, ages 18-24, who are currently unemployed or underemployed high school graduates or GED-holders from low-income neighborhoods.

This innovative, six-month program tackles education, employment and environmental challenges all at once by combining national service and training related to the clean energy economy and sustainability.

Green City Force members spend four days a week as an urban environmental service force, painting roofs as part of the NYC CoolRoofs campaign, performing energy audits in low-income homes and engaging in urban agriculture and other green activities.

In addition to helping improve the community, the program helps these young adults improve themselves. As part of their service, corps members attend “Green City Academy,” which provides academic and technical training, and helps them gain certification for entry-level work in energy efficiency and urban agriculture. Corps members also significantly increase their reading and math skills as a result of their classes at the Academy.

The success of Green City Force is clear. In the first two years of the program, more than 80 percent of the graduates were fully employed, in college or taking advanced training courses.

One graduate, Ty'Keisha Youmans, 20, received special recognition at the ceremony because of her work to create a Resident Green Committee in New York City's Smith Houses Development, and now serves as the Committee's Outreach Coordinator. Ty'Keisha shared what this program meant to her:

“Three words come to mind when I think of Green City Force: Change. Growth. Empowerment. Who I was six months ago is not who I am today. Green City Force has helped me CHANGE how I treat my planet, how I treat others and how I view myself. Green City Force has helped me GROW not only professionally or academically, but as a person. Green City Force has given me the POWER to make a differ­ence in my neighborhood, to fight for change, and what I believe in.”

You can see Green City Force corps members in action and hear about their experience here.

In just six months in the program, these young people have shifted the odds of success in their favor by gaining a great set of skills that can take them on to higher education, a new or better job, or a lifelong career. And in the process, they have made New York City a healthier, greener place.

That is national service at its best.

Asim Mishra currently serves as the Chief of Staff at the Corporation for National and Community Service. He previously served as an AmeriCorps member at Public Allies Chicago.

Green City Force's mission is to break the cycle of poverty, preparing urban young adults to succeed in their chosen careers by engaging them in service, training and work experiences related to the clean energy economy. In doing so, GCF encourages them to lead socially and environmentally responsible lives. Green City Force partners with the New York City Civic Corps, which is sponsored in part by the New York State Office of National and Community Service, New Yorkers Volunteer.

Inspired by President Obama's call to action, a group of Council on Environmental Quality interns volunteered on Earth Day, knowing that even a seemingly small effort can make a large impact. UsingServe.gov,they found an opportunity to help remove non-native plants in Rock Creek Park. After a trip on the metro, a bus ride, and a short walk,they arrived at the Rock Creek Nature Center and Planetarium.
 

Wow! What a special day it was! On King Day, January 18, 2010, Boulevard Townhomes (BTH) came to life as the children put aside their own desires to make life for some local senior citizens a little bit fresher.
 

In preparing for Monday's Energy Canvass in honor of the MLK Day of Service, I restored in my mind Dr. King's vision of the attainable "Beloved Community," where the all-inclusive spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood nurtures an environment of conversation, reconciliation, and progress. Over 40 volunteers of all ages joined WeatherizeDC Monday ready to serve and in pursuit of this Beloved Community, but in a bit of a new way: by talking about energy.
 

Wyoming County, WV, 4-H FLOW, an AmeriCorps Learn and Serve grantee of the West Virginia Commission for National and Community Service, completed more than 500 hours of watershed service-learning projects.
 

Volunteers have the power to transform their community. As co-founder of Friends of the San Jose Rose Garden, I have witnessed how people of all ages and abilities can come together to make a difference, transform neglect into beauty, and inspire change in other communities. In less than two years, volunteers took a historic landmark park from probation to elation. This is our story.
 

Our project is the landscaping and on-going care of the grounds of the new Hospice House of St. Mary's County.
 

In celebration of Global Youth Service Day 2009, high school students in El Paso planted tree seedlings behind three major non-profit organizations to provide a windbreak and safety screen for their outdoor areas.
 

Green Road Community Center in Raleigh has a brand new playground today thanks to a coordinated effort of 200 volunteers from Foresters™ and the community who erected the facility.
 

Our team members grab a cup of coffee, some eggs and bacon, a tool, and a hardhat – and the day’s adventure begins.
 

 he current economic downturn and challenges of raising a family in the 21st century has an impact on young boys.
 

To honor the first annual 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, Rebuilding Together partnered with United We Serve to distribute 50,000 outreach bags filled with energy efficient savings information in 19 states.
 

EPA's ENERGY STAR and Boys & Girls Club offer Dallas homeowner a youthful energy check-up.
 

The high cost of energy in rural Alaska prompted a VISTA member serving with the Rural Alaska Community Action Program to look into using the local hot springs as an energy source.
 

Creating a New Path is a Learn and Serve America subgrantee at CASMAN Alternative Academy in Manistee, Michigan. Students at the school recognized a need for a better place to walk dogs instead of down a dirt road.
 

California Lutheran University students partnered with the City of Ventura for a Ventura Riverbed Cleanup.
 

Crenshaw High School opened in 1968 in the historic Crenshaw District of South Los Angeles. Students here face more than the normal teenage dramas; they also deal with shifting cultural alliances and the threat of gang violence. 85% qualify for the Free/Reduced Lunch Program. Out of these difficult circumstances, the Crenshaw Eco Club has risen to become the largest and most ethnically diverse club on campus.
 

Students at Woodmere Middle School on Long Island completed a service-learning project at the Town of Hempstead's Marine Nature Study Area in honor of the 16th Annual National Public Lands Day. They lent a helping hand to Long Island's tidal wetlands, which provide protection for shellfish, small fish, mirgratory birds, and other animals.
 

On the first-ever September 11 Day of Service and Remembrance, young people from across the nation planted trees in Keystone, Colorado, to honor fallen heroes and increase their knowledge of nature.
 

This August, a group of Girls Inc girls at our Brooklyn site volunteered at Rooftop Farms in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
 

UPS employees have completed a project that benefits both Atlanta residents and the environment. These employee volunteers transformed a small patch of unused land into a garden full of hearty produce: corn, onions, okra, squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, beans, sweet potatoes and watermelon now fill a space that was previously vacant and unattractive.
 

The Northeast Ecological Corridor, protected as a Nature Reserve in April 2008, lies between the towns of Luquillo and Fajardo on Puerto Rico's northeastern shoreline. Its 3,200 acres include forests, wetlands, beaches, coral communities, a bioluminescent lagoon and one of the hottest surfing spots on Puerto Rico's east coast: "La Selva" (the jungle).
 

 When I first found out I’d be interning in the New York City Mayor’s Office this summer, I resigned myself to a summer of desk work, with perhaps some filing thrown in for variety. So imagine my surprise when I began working at NYC Service, an office launched by Mayor Bloomberg in April in response to President Obama’s national call to service.
 

Eastern Colorado experiences blizzard conditions every winter. Living snowfences are tree plantings strategically planned to provide protection along roadways by capturing wind driven snow, keeping snow and ice from creating driving hazards. In my career, I have coordinated or participated in 36 living snowfence plantings.
 

In 2007 we started the Boston Latin School Youth Climate Action Network as a student led extracurricular club devoted to helping the environment.
 

When Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated asked its members to support United We Serve’s Summer Service Initiative, the ladies of the Xi Zeta Omega Chapter located in Washington, DC, joined right in to provide “service to all mankind.”
 

Students at Von Steuben High School painted a 15-foot mural depicting their experiences at Foster Beach in Chicago. The mural is a daily reminder of more than six years of monthly stewardship and seasonal adventures. “I like knowing that the trash we help to remove from the beach makes things better,” says teacher CarolLynn Chmielewski, who has headed the Von Steuben High School Environmental Action Club in adopting and caring for Foster Beach.
 

Cisco employees decided that they wanted to “make an impact” and not just “write a check” for the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens in downtown San Jose, an area maintained entirely by volunteers. Thirty-eight Cisco employees rolled up their sleeves to clean and provide maintenance for the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens
 

My name is Carolyn and I am a volunteer at the Piney Creek Watershed Association (PCWA). I am so grateful that I was introduced to PCWA because it is a wonderful group of people who have a passion for the community, access to clean water and protecting the environment.
 

“Number 3, number 3 number 2, number 2 number 9, number 9 number number 9, number 9 number 5!” The Student Conservation Association (SCA) youth crew chants out their rhythm game to warm up before hiking into National Park Service land to perform trail work at the Phleger Estate.