The City Year experience
The road ahead is not an easy one, but when you help learners and community members find their strengths through a year of service, you discover your own strengths. The skills you gain and what you learn about yourself along the way will prepare you for who you want to be.
What’s in a City Year experience?
When you join City Year South Africa, you work alongside a team to design service activities based on the needs or the requirements of the school or organisation that you will be working alongside. As a team you and your service partner will agree on the structured service activities and through our service learning approach, you will gain invaluable work experience to prepare you for your future career. Are you ready to serve with City Year South Africa?
Your day
Your day begins before learners arrive, with most teams arriving at their respective schools or partner organisations by 7:30am. You and your fellow service leaders set the tone for the day by greeting learners as they enter the school gate with a welcome and invitation to learn, grow, and connect. After serving in school all day, you will help to run afterschool programs. Most service leaders end their days around 4:30pm from Monday-Thursday. Fridays are reserved for additional training.
During the school day
You will provide support to the whole learning environment through various City Year support programmes. Once the school day starts, you and your team will have time to work with learners during class sit-ins to help our amazing educators as an added classroom support. You will also help with the feeding scheme programme, ensuring that learners receive a nutritious meal. Afterwards and during school breaks, you will help with playground supervision.
After School - City Year Children’s Club
The City Year Children’s Club (CYCC) is an opportunity for you to work with your own group of learners in the afternoons, Monday to Thursday. You will work with learners from grades 4-7 in a group of 15-30 learners each afternoon as their mentor and coach. You will help them with homework, life skills, literacy and numeracy activities that will enable them to excel and complement their holistic growth.
What will you gain from a year of service?
- Skills development and training
- Work readiness preparedness
- Working with other young people
- Working on campaigns and events
- Service learning experience at a school/organisation
- Additional work experience through our Amathuba Internship experience
- Reference letter from City Year at the end of the program
- Be part of our alumni network
- Exposure and motivational talks from various industry leaders
- Support and information on employment, education and entrepreneurship opportunities post the program
- Lifelong friendships
- City Year jacket and t-shirt
- Travel stipend (amount varies each year)
- Certificate of completion of a year of service
Alumni Network
Once you complete your year of service, you officially join our Alumni network. We have over 1,862 alumni. As a graduate of the programme, we always encourage our alumni to always stay engaged with City Year and find ways to create opportunities for other young people.
Alumni can stay connected by:
- Joining our alumni network closed group page on Facebook
- Attend an 18 Minute Networking event to help current service leaders hone their networking skills
- Sharing any information and opportunities with our current service leaders, email our Youth Development Manager, Errol Radebe
- Helping us recruit the next group of service leaders, contact us for more information about recruitment
- Becoming a Amathuba Internship host. Contact our Youth Development Manager to discuss opportunities for placement
- Continuing to develop yourself, and make time to do small acts of kindness throughout your journey
