Chicago Youth Centers is a child and youth development organization dedicated to assisting children and youth in underserved communities in the Chicago region to discover and realize their full potential.  To that end, CYC operates programs on a continuum of care which includes Early Childhood Education, School-age Child Development, and Teen Leadership Development.

Thank you so much for your interest in volunteering at Chicago Youth Centers!  Here are our volunteer opportunities.

 Volunteering and Mentoring Opportunities

Provide educational and social support at our Community Schools:  Tutors and Homework Assistants are needed to help youth in grades K-12 in various subject areas after school Monday-Thursday from 2:30-6:30pm.  We are also always looking for volunteers who can provide workshops on art, music, team sports, dance, team-building, leadership development, photography, fashion, poetry/creative writing, Spoken Word, graphic design, hip-hop music production, barber/hair styling, etc….  Locations vary:  South Loop, Bridgeport, Back of the Yards, Auburn/Gresham, Bronzeville, and South Shore.  Complete the VOLUNTEER APPLICATION.

On-going Center-Based Volunteering:  Center-based Volunteers are people who contribute their time to work with the youth of CYC in our after-school programs (2:30-8pm Monday-Friday). Center-Based Volunteer Opportunities include: tutoring, co-facilitating a group, recreational activities, career and college-readiness activities, or just helping out wherever you are needed.  FILL OUT THE VOLUNTEER APPLICATION.

Day of Caring/Small Group  Volunteering:  CYC welcomes small groups (2-15 people) from Corporations, Community Organizations, and Faith/Church Groups (ages 16 and up) to come to our centers to volunteer 2-8 hours for a one-time "Day of Caring" event. Volunteers can help with after-school programming, doing activities like tutoring, running an arts/crafts activity, assisting teens with writing college essays and ACT preparation or assist us with facility-based projects, like painting. landscaping, putting up fun/creative bulletin boards, organizing classrooms and sanitizing toys. Contact the Director of Mentoring and Volunteer Services for more information at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (773) 268-3815, ext. 33.

Locations: 

* Indicates that this location also has a Head Start program

 Interested? Contact us at (773) 268-3815, ext. 33 or by email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or download the application using the links above.