I logged on to Starbucks' website this evening, hoping to find something to talk shit about for a blog entry. Feeling particularly snarky, and quite primed, with Frank Zappa's The Gumbo Variations playing on my speakers, I opened up the Community Service section, in their Global Responsibility page. In the full throes of my bitter sarcasm, I saw a short video advertisement for City Year, Inc.
As a City Year alumnus and aspiring professional in the education field, I could not ignore this. What are the tentacles of such a foul corporate megalith as Starbucks doing in this idealistic non-profit organization? Even more disturbing, why am I at a complete loss for smart-ass remarks?
This is because I know what City Year did for me and for the students with whom I worked, and what they continue to do across the world. This organization galvanizes earnest young people, and gives them the resources and the connections to make the difference in the world for which they thirst. The danger of idealism is, when not used, it can make the proponent very cynical and angry about the bad things which grow worse by the day.
Given the proper outlet, this desire to see good in the world can be quite powerful. As we wonder what will become of the mobs in Occupy Boston, Wall Street, et al, many of us feel a twinge of hope, rooting for the good guys, even though the results of that are often bleaker in real life than in a Harry Potter book or a Star Wars movie. Michael Brown and Alan Khazei, however, started City Year as a pile of paperwork at Brown's parents' dining room table, and managed to grow this seed into a multi-national network of corps members and administrators. The results? Improved test scores from elementary to high schools, gardens and murals in neighborhoods that needed them, and a chance for some frustrated young adults to do something with their youthful angst.
Their jackets may be annoying, and their PT sessions may look like Tourette's Syndrome in action, but despite these minor eccentricities, our nation and our generation are quite lucky for this force and this opportunity, for those thusly interested. If that interest applies to you, you might be interested to know that there is a $5,000 scholarship, as well as many other scholarship and networking opportunities, waiting for you at the other end. If you've never been responsible for the development of a child into a young adult, now you can be. If you never kicked a home run in kickball, now you can. If you've never had a child one third your age tell you that you were his best friend, now you can hear it! Having had these experiences, I look back on what I had considered truly good in life before, and I shake my head in wonder. The world, and my heart, are both bigger places.
If anyone has questions, please ask!
City Year sounds cool. It's annoying how slick Starbucks is. I remember a few years back a poet was doing a campaign and writing letters to his least favorite corporations and publishing the letters and responses. Remember when you could personalize a NIKE? They refused to print "sweatshop" on his.
ReplyDeleteStarbucks responded in witty haiku (!) about how blatantly they dominate the US market. I still remember the second line "A Starbucks on Every Block", you have to make sure "every" has two syllables but it was effective. On the other hand, if you want dirt, ask questions about why civil war breaks out every time SB enter a new market for beans (or seeds I guess).
Well it looks like Occupy Wallstreet is coming to a close. They aren't allowed to bring in tarps or tents and are supposed to leave the park by 10pm. Sigh. Now what?
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