Description
The CYC was started in 2004 as a place for young people to join others in an organized effort to make an impact in the Western New York Area. It is always a blessing to work beside young people interested in making a difference in the lives of the handicapped and others in need. Along the way, the lives of the youth are changed for the better and they learn skills that will last them a lifetime. The effect of meeting those that have real hurdles to overcome in life such as cancer, diabetes and other life altering diseases, refocuses the teens’ priorities. Their problems often seem to fade into the background when they meet people facing and overcoming such day-to-day challenges. The act of accomplishing a project that helps someone else almost always re-energizes them, as CYC youth tell us time and time again.
In addition to helping individuals, CYC youth also undertake many projects that benefit the general public as a whole. Whether it is working on Village or State Parks, Historical or Environmental projects, or just helping out in a nursing home, the CYC is a very powerful tool that communities can rely on to help with projects that need completion; projects that villages and park maintenance departments often just lack the time and manpower to complete.
How do they make a difference?CYC youth, working closely with craftsmen of many different skills and trades, learn the basics of these trades while employing them on service projects. Armed with tools ranging from air compressors and nail guns to airless paint sprayers and a wide variety of other tools, the CYC and the skilled volunteer craftsmen are a formidable reactionary team.
The combination of willing, energetic young people with the guidance of skilled tradesmen is unbeatable! And the resulting accomplishments are equally astonishing. Real projects that make a real difference are the norm- not the exception. And they often take a fraction of the time at a fraction of the cost.
