Every day, City Year Detroit corps members show up when the school bell rings at many of Detroit’s most under-served educational facilities. Day in and day out, these young people provide tutoring, mentoring and after-school support.

To honor that work and give back to City Year Detroit for all it does, Comcast recently hosted a Career Day for corps members, bringing the current class of 71 to its Plymouth regional headquarters for workshops, panels and one-on-one mentoring.

The event, which included Comcast executives, employees and human-resource experts, serves to help City Year Detroit both recruit and prepare its corps members for the future, said Craig D’Agostini, Comcast Vice President of External Affairs for Comcast’s Heartland Region.

“They dedicate a year of their lives” to improving education and so much more in the city of Detroit, D’Agostini said. “We appreciate that commitment so much.”

The Career Day is one part of the long-term relationship between Comcast and City Year. This partnership began in Detroit in 2001. Since then, more than 25 other City Year locations have done events with Comcast. The relationship is year around, D’Agostini said, but the Career Day is a special one-day event everyone looks forward to annually.

Comcast works with City Year corps members to help them work through resume revisions, learn more about leadership from a panel discussion and boost their networking skills. The resume instruction included tips on how to make their resumes sing for future employers.

The panel discussion included Comcast executives as well as members of the Detroit Young Professionals group, D’Agostini said. The panel talked about their best career advice, success strategies and more.

There also was a breakout session on interviewing tips, which included one-on-one time with Comcast human-resource experts, D’Agostini said. Comcast wisely uses this time to talk to students about coming to work with Comcast, he noted, especially because the skill sets they acquire through City Year is a great match for Comcast careers.

Finally, students enjoy a social with Comcast employees as they learn about networking. It’s the ideal ending to a great day, D’Agostini said.

“Youth-leadership development is a key area for Comcast,” D’Agostini said. “There’s no better organization that exemplifies youth leadership development and community volunteerism than City Year.”

Over the past 15 years, Comcast has donated more than $1 million in cash grants to City Year Detroit. Since 1999, City Year has worked in Detroit’s most disadvantaged schools. Recently, it deployed 71 highly skilled corps members to serve in eight middle and high schools.

Founded in Boston in 1988, City Year is an education-focused, nonprofit organization that partners with public schools and teachers to help keep students in school and on track to succeed. This year, City Year’s 3,000 young leaders, who are 18 to 24 years old, will serve in 292 schools.

In 27 communities across the United States and through three international affiliates, this 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.

  Career Day, City Year, City Year Detroit, Comcast, Craig D’Agostini, Detroit Young Professionals