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The Greening Youth Foundation, a member of The Corps Network, has launched a new program called the Atlanta Youth Corps. Nick Chiles of the Atlanta BlackStar writes that the new Corps program will help plant gardens around several Atlanta fire stations as one of their first projects.
Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall has been working with the Greening Youth Foundation to start the Corps. Chiles explains that “GYF will manage the pilot Atlanta Youth Corps program as part of Councilman Hall’s Year of Boulevard initiative, focused on Atlanta’s Boulevard street in the Midtown area. The cost of the public-private partnership will stem from the exact amount needed to complete a project. Each project will be designed in partnership with the City of Atlanta Parks and Recreation department and/or the community entity involved.”
Greening Youth Foundation recently was designated as an official program operator for the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps. Chiles suggests that the Atlanta Youth Corps, will be considered part of this initiative.
With 350 parks, green spaces and community centers, the city of Atlanta is poised to benefit from the deployment of young people in a citywide conservation corps—particularly considering the city’s high unemployment rate for Black youth. Because of budget shortfalls and a growing population, the city has a difficult time maintaining all of its green spaces and rec centers.
“This program is a perfect culmination of what our organization is good at and what the City of Atlanta needs: workforce development for youth in the area of conservation and outsourced greenspace and park management,” Angelou Ezeilo, founder and CEO of Greening Youth Foundation, told ABS. “I am thrilled that GYF will be leading such an exciting initiative. Our team looks forward to working with the City of Atlanta to make this program an overwhelming success.”