Each year, more than 200 students at YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School in Pennsylvania make a commitment to help improve Philadelphia's neighborhoods as they work toward their high school diplomas. Since YouthBuild Philadelphia's inception in 1992, students have provided a wide variety of volunteer services to families and organizations around the city, while benefiting from experiences that give them a deeper sense of their abilities, both personal and professional. At YouthBuild Philadelphia, former high school dropouts ages 18 to 21 earn their diplomas while working toward industry-recognized certifications in one of three tracks: (1) construction; (2) technology; or (3) nursing. YouthBuild Philadelphia integrates this education and training with service by instilling in the students--most of whom have become disconnected from their communities--a sense of relevance to the neighborhoods in which they live and work. Students volunteer on real work sites, learning skills as they rehabilitate homes for low-income families, refurbish computers and develop websites for local organizations, provide care for long-term residents of nursing homes, and serve as interns in medical facilities. Community service is at the core of YouthBuild Philadelphia's curriculum. Each student becomes a part-time member of AmeriCorps and is required to complete 900 volunteer hours in order to graduate. Those students who complete their hours receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of approximately $2,300, which may be used for up to seven years to assist with postsecondary education. In addition to vocational service, students complete their volunteer hours through a weekly service-learning class and additional service projects with local organizations. YouthBuild Philadelphia also organizes several schoolwide service projects each year, which correspond to several national holidays, including the Martin Luther King Day of Service, Global Youth Service Day, and Make A Difference Day.