If you need an afterschool program in your neighborhood, information on improving reading skills or finding the nearest community center, DYCD funds a wide range of high-quality programs for youth of all ages. Visit our official website, check out discoverDYCD, or call the Youth Connect hotline at 800-246-4646 or 646-343-6800, Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, to find your local program.

The Work, Learn & Grow Employment Program (WLG) is a New York City Council-funded initiative designed to build off of the experiences gained in the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). WLG provides 2018 SYEP participants who are between the ages of 16 – 21 and currently in-school with career readiness training and paid employment opportunities for up to twenty-five weeks from October to April.

Youth can apply for the program online now, participants are selected by lottery for the program. For more information visit the WLG official website.

Train & Earn is a short-term career pathway program for low-income youth, ages 16–24, who are not working and not in school. Train & Earn provides extensive job training and employment services along with support services needed by participants to find a permanent job or assistance with college admission. For more information, check out Train & Earn on the DYCD website.

Learn & Earn is a year-round program for low-income high school juniors and seniors at risk of dropping out of school. The program provides participants with college preparation, career-readiness, leadership development services, and a paid six-week summer internship. Learn & Earn is for high school juniors and seniors who meet certain eligibility requirements. For more information, visit the Learn & Earn section of the DYCD website.

Established in 2015 by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), Making Waves set out to help prevent drownings by teaching NYC youth under the age of 18 how to swim. Since then, the program has benefited more than 8,000 kids. Participants from over 25 DYCD-funded Beacon and Cornerstone programs took part in one-hour swimming sessions for two weeks at 10 sites across the City this year. We would like to thank our partners and sister agencies: the Department of Education (DOE), DOHMH, and the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation. Check out photos from this summer.

On August 15th, participants of the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) visited the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Fire Academy on Randall's Island in New York City on August 15th to participate in an educational and engaging Firefighter for a Day Event. Throughout the day, the youth were able to meet with members of New York's Bravest and take part in FDNY themed evolutions, which included Roof Rope Rescue, Extinguishing a Car Fire, Subway Simulation and many more. Check out the photos on DYCD's Facebook page.

Since 2004, the Idealist Grad Fairs have been helping prepare the next generation of nonprofit leaders by connecting thousands of prospective students with hundreds of admissions representatives from public-interest graduate programs across the United States and around the world. Fields represented at the fairs include public administration, international affairs, education, public policy, public interest law, social work, nonprofit management, global and public health, theology, environmental science, socially responsible business, and more. Learn more and RVSP on the Idealist Grad Fairs event page.

NYC’s largest street festival takes over Downtown Brooklyn for its 43rd year, with ten blocks of food, performers, art, and more. Peruse dozens of Brooklyn-based food vendors, craft breweries, and artisanal shops, and try to catch all the acts at performance stages while burning a hole in your pocket with all the provisions. Pace yourself. A full list of event details can be found the official Atlantic Antic website and their Facebook event page.

New York Drives is a free six-week career training program that combines driving lessons with professional development workshops to help you qualify for Brooklyn Workforce Innovations’ (BWI) training programs: Brooklyn Woods (skilled woodworking), Brooklyn Networks (telecommunications cable installation), and Made in NY (TV/film production assistant training). Participants receive up to 30 driving lessons, a road test and 60 hours of professional development workshops. New York Drives serves a prerequisite for the above programs, since they require a valid driver’s license or encourage applicants to have one.

The Ark Law Group Student Voices Scholarship Program is an ongoing, quarterly scholarship program, open to all college students in the United States. Each quarter a new topic will be announced, and one winner will receive a scholarship of $1,000. Up to 20 students will receive a runner-up acknowledgment and a $50 gift card. Prizes will be awarded to the students who write the best responses. For full details, visit the Ark Law official website.

The United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) is an intensive weeklong educational experience and scholarship sponsored by the United States Senate for outstanding high school students who are interested in pursuing careers in public service. If you are a high school junior or senior already serving as an elected official in your student body or other state or community organization, you may already be qualified to apply. For full details, visit the United States Senate Youth website.

Project Learning Tree is offering grants of up to $1,000 to schools and youth organizations that link classroom projects with the environment. Students implement an action project that they help design to "green" their school or to improve an aspect of their neighborhood’s environment. Applications are due September 30.

Brooklyn-based nonprofit organizations, Brooklyn-based individual artists, and NYC-based individual artists working in partnership with Brooklyn-based nonprofit organizations are invited to apply for up to $5,000 for community-based arts projects. In 2018, this grant distributed over $110,000 to 29 projects across the borough. To review the eligibility guidelines and apply, visit the Brooklyn Arts Council website.

As a scholarship seeker, you’re probably already aware of the importance of an education. But what about the naysayers? Have you come across someone who’s tried to talk you out of college, saying that it’s not worth it? The Education Matters Scholarship is giving you the chance to state why education matters. Submit your online answer to UNIGO by the November 30, 2018 deadline.

Looking for an afterschool program in your neighborhood? Need information on improving reading skills or finding the nearest community center? The web application discoverDYCD allows you to search in multiple languages for DYCD-funded programs. You can search by borough, neighborhood or zip code, and discoverDYCD provides contact information, activities offered, and a mapping feature with navigation.

Categories of services include: Afterschool Programs, Family Support, Literacy Services, Youth Services and so much more! We hope you find discoverDYCD useful as you take advantage of the diverse resources and opportunities that New York City has to offer.