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City Year NH Americorps members graduate

MANCHESTER – On June 19, City Year New Hampshire honored 54 AmeriCorps members dur­ing a graduation ceremony at the Palace Theater in Man­chester, for over 91,000 hours of collective service as tutors, mentors and role models to students at risk of falling off track, in six of Manchester’s highest-poverty public el­ementary schools.

City Year is a national education-focused non-profit that helps students stay in school and on track to gradu­ate from high school through support in attendance, behav­ior, and English Language Arts and Math course work. Since City Year New Hamp­shire was founded in 2000, the organization has had a power­ful impact on the lives of many students in the Granite State. This year, 92 percent of teach­ers agreed that AmeriCorps members helped improve stu­dents’ math and English/lan­guage arts performance, and 91 percent of principals agreed that AmeriCorps members serve as positive role models in their school.

"City Year firmly believes that all children should have the opportunity to meet their potential – it’s critical for our community, our economy, and our nation’s future," said City Year New Hampshire Executive Director Pawn Nitichan. "We are very proud of our City Year AmeriCorps members. Their passion and hard-work helped bridge the opportunity gaps for our struggling students. I also want to be sure to thank and appreciate our many partners and funders who helped make this year a great success."

Patrick Duffy, former pres­ident of NYNEX, served as keynote speaker of the gradu­ation ceremony, while Mayor Ted Gatsas and Kerri St. Jean of Comcast NBC Universal also addressed the crowd of more than 250 friends, fam­ily and community members of the graduating City Year AmeriCorps members.

City Year AmeriCorps member, Sherry Leung, was presented with the Com­cast NBC Universal Spirit of City Year Award for her unwavering dedication to City Year New Hampshire, embodiment of the val­ues and ideals of City Year, demonstration of exemplary commitment to spirit, disci­pline, purpose and pride, and as an inspiration to her fel­low AmeriCorps members to also strive for these values.

To learn more about City Year, visit www.cityyear.org.