As a thank you to the community of Coatesville for its support throughout the year, the Coatesville Youth Initiative held its second annual open house last week, writes Lauren Parker- Gill for The Times of Chester County.

During the event, visitors got to see that the CYI’s leadership program, known as ServiceCorps, has become a huge success.

The program was started six years ago with the help of grants from United Way of Chester County, Patricia Kind Family Foundation, Transamerica Foundation, Vanguard Foundation, Wells Fargo, Stewart Huston Charitable Trust, as well as the Brandywine Health Foundation which raised additional funds from its Strawberry Festival in June.

ServiceCorps gives participants the opportunity to gain work experience, develop useful life and leadership skills and earn a summer income. With only 30 participants in the first year, the program now receives over 100 applications from students in the Coatesville Area School District every summer. This year, 65 applicants were interviewed. Thirty-nine were hired for the eight-week program.

The members of ServiceCorps, aged 14 to 18, start their days with breakfast and positive reinforcement at the Brandywine Center. After that they go to their work sites, such as the Art Partners Studio, Brandywine Health Foundation, Brandywine Hospital, and Brandywine YMCA where they are responsible for a wide variety of tasks.

Read more about the ServiceCorps program at The Times of Chester County here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of Coatesville Youth Initiative here.