As City Year corps members are launching a year of service in high-need urban schools across the country, the organization announced today $8.275 million in support from CSX, a leading supplier of rail-based freight transportation in North America. CSX has been a sponsor of City Year since 1994 and a National Leadership Sponsor, City Year’s largest and most strategic national partners, since 2003.

“CSX's national support of City Year and the service it provides to our communities is representative of our dedication to helping our neighbors where our employees live and work,” said Michael Ward, CEO, Chairman and President of CSX and National Trustee of City Year, Inc. “We’re pleased to continue our support of City Year nationally to develop City Year’s recruitment capacities and locally as a team sponsor, ensuring that the nation’s most promising and idealistic young people dedicate their time and talents to national service.”

“Every 26 seconds a student drops out of high school in America – and City Year corps members serve where the need is greatest,” said City Year CEO and Co-Founder Michael Brown. “Young adults – who are near-peers to the students they serve and highly motivated to get results – can help them get back on track. We are deeply grateful to CSX for their generous investment that will recruit highly-talented, idealistic young adults to invest a year of service in high-need, urban schools, sponsor teams of City Year corps members and engage thousands of CSX employees in transformative community service.”

Included in the CSX partnership is $2 million in support of the new City Year National Admissions Center, supporting the next generation of City Year’s corps member application process and recruitment information systems. Upgraded systems will allow City Year to create a more efficient and effective process to recruit and manage applications from a growing demand from thousands of potential corps members across the country. City Year depends on corporate sponsorships for much of its funding, including corporations which sponsor teams of City Year corps members working in high-need schools. With 14 CSX City Year teams across the country, CSX is City Year’s leading team sponsor.

At City Year’s 21 locations across the country, City Year corps members ages 17 to 24, supported by AmeriCorps, serve in high-poverty schools throughout the entire school year, applying the power of national service to help increase student success and close the education achievement gap. Corps members work directly with at-risk children to improve student attendance, behavior and course performance in English and math—which research confirms is a way to significantly increase the urban high school graduation pipeline in America. As near-peers working in schools from before the first bell rings and until the last child leaves the after-school program, corps members are uniquely able to help students and schools succeed.

CSX is also committed to continued support of City Year’s Care Force, a division of City Year that engages corporations and their employees in high-impact community service events. City Year’s Care Force and CSX community service events focus on creating safe and healthy places for children and their families in cities and towns where CSX operates. Additionally, City Year’s Care Force activates CSX’s Trees for Tracks initiative, where employees and community residents are planting one tree for every mile of track that CSX operates. Since 2004, City Year’s Care Force has engaged more than 6,000 CSX employees and key stakeholders in over 50 community service events.

About City Year: City Year is an education-focused, nonprofit organization founded in 1988 that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention for students most at risk of dropping out. In more than 20 communities across the United States and through two international affiliates, our teams of young AmeriCorps leaders support students by focusing on attendance, behavior, and course performance through in-class tutoring, mentoring, and after school programs that keep kids in school and on track to graduate.

CSX Corporation

CSX Corporation

CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation's leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles, with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia.

Commitment to corporate social responsibility is at the core of CSX's identity. CSX is proud to be "How tomorrow moves" and actively seeks ways to make things better in the marketplace, in the workplace, in the environment and in the community.

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