One of the most difficult tasks involved in operating a program such as C5 is selecting the youth who will participate — not because there are so few young people who would benefit from it, but because there are so many. Our selection process is targeted and intensive, designed to select a diverse group of young people who will benefit from our intentional leadership development program.
In the fall of each year C5LA reaches out to its school and community partners, representing a pool of almost 15,000 eight graders, in order to identify motivated and high potential youth to enter the C5LA program. 600-800 students are nominated each year to apply, and go through the rigorous yet educational selection process. Guidelines for student nominations are as follows:
- B (+/-) average in school
- Record of positive behavior in the community and at school
- Leadership potential and a demonstrated desire to succeed
- Limited family income (approximately $10,000 per year/per family member or below)
- Limited community resources
- Reliable and consistent parental or guardian support
Nominated students have also been identified as having multiple risk factors in their lives that make success more difficult — poverty, single-parent or no-parent home, prevalence of drugs and/or gangs in their neighborhoods, etc. Each nominated student is asked to submit an application, write an essay on an assigned topic, and participate in two interviews. After carefully reviewing all the nominees, each site selects 72 students for the new class of C5 youth. Great care is taken to ensure that the program has a diverse population in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, faith, and culture.
As a result of the generous support of our sponsors and donors, the C5 program is made available at no cost to teens selected to participate.