Created by City Year AmeriCorps members Diana Mai, Erin O’Donnell, Nithya Prabhala, and Rian Yalamanchili. Read their full bios here.

“When I see City Year, I think I want to be one too!” yells a third grader excitedly.

The first thing that many of us look at in the morning is our City Year uniforms. Day in and day out, we all wear the same parts – white shirt, khakis, belt, bright red jacket and Timberland boots.

“City Year has mad stylish jackets,” claims a fourth grader.

Even though it is a uniform all corps members are required to wear, it is also representative of the unity we all feel while we serve. Despite the fact that we each come from different backgrounds and serve at different schools, we are all committed to City Year for the same reason – to serve full-time for a year in in schools and communities and to make a difference in the lives of others.

“CY is an inspiration for me to be a better me.”

Looking at the uniform from the lens of our students, we wanted to see what the City Year jacket symbolized and what kind of difference City Year had personally made to them. All across the spectrum of younger children to teenagers at the Elihu Greenwood Leadership Academy, The Jeremiah E. Burke High School, The Holland Elementary School and the Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School, we asked students from elementary to high school what the red jacket’s significance was for them.

“The City Year uniform means you have to be responsible and trustworthy because people look up to you,” says a fifth grader.

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Click here to view slideshow. This is the third installment of a monthly collaborative project. See last month’s project here - We ask incoming Boston Corps, “Why did you choose City Year?”