CAYLA The City of Asheville Youth Leadership Academy (CAYLA) is committed to providing its students with: A meaningful summer work experience, Leadership development through seminars and community service, and College preparatory activities, including yearlong academic support. Since its inception in 2007, CAYLA has been nationally-recognized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In 2011, CAYLA was honored with the North Carolina Governor’s Award for Volunteer Service. CAYLA is an integral part of the City’s ‘Grow Our Own’ initiative, as envisioned by the Asheville City Council. The City is committed to giving Asheville’s young people the opportunity to stay and work in Asheville, as well as to have valuable work experiences that will advance their future careers wherever they go. The program is a partnership with the Asheville City Schools Foundation and is supported in part by Buncombe County. CAYLA recruits, trains and places local high school students at meaningful summer jobs with the City and with participating agencies, in addition to providing weekly day-long workshops on financial literacy, leadership, career exploration and 21st Century job skills. CAYLA engages its students throughout the school year by offering classroom-based enrichment activities, plus individualized assistance with college applications and scholarship research. The vast majority of CAYLA students will be first in their families to attend college. CAYLA students must be enrolled in Asheville City Schools or one of the Buncombe County High Schools. To strengthen their connection to the community, CAYLA students learn about civic responsibility through frequent community service projects that they themselves plan and lead. The CAYLA students have become positive role models for their peers and, just as importantly, for the many children with whom they interact, including their younger siblings and neighbors. The CAYLA students have completed more than 4,000 hours of community service with agencies including MANNA FoodBank, IRL at Asheville Middle School, Big Brothers Big Sisters, ABCCM Women and Children’s Shelter, Habitat for Humanity, Brother Wolf, and Eliada Homes, among others. 2019 Internship Sites Government and Business Asheville City Soccer Club Buncombe County Family Justice Center Buncombe County Justice Resource Center Carolina Small Business Fund City of Asheville City Manager’s Office City of Asheville Community and Economic Development City of Asheville Neighborhood and Community Engagement City of Asheville Equity and Inclusion City of Asheville IT Services City of Asheville Parks & Rec Chamber of Commerce – EDC Hola Carolina JMPRO TV Lenoir Rhyne University Mountain Xpress UNC Asheville Athletics CAYLA students visited a horse farm. Social Services/Non-Profit Asheville Area Arts Council Asheville City Schools Foundation Asheville Community Theatre Buncombe Alternatives Teen Court ChildrenFirst – Communities in Schools Nuestro Centro Pisgah Legal RHA/Partnership for Substance Free Youth SPARC Foundation YTL Health ABIPA Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers French Broad Pediatrics Gentle Mothering Doula Services MAHEC WNC Birth Center Internship Sites – printable list Summer Internships CAYLA seniors bound for college. CAYLA students are placed at summer internships with City and County departments and with local businesses and nonprofits. Notice: The schedule is Four days per week, 4 hours per day for a total of approximately 16 hours (specific times will depend on each job site) Weekly Workshops – Summer CAYLA students are required to attend mandatory Friday workshops on topics ranging from leadership development, team-building, financial literacy, college prep and career exploration. The theme for 2019 is “Feeling Seen: Conversations about Race and Identity.” Students will develop team Action Plans that can create positive change in our community. Students are paid their hourly wage for attendance at the workshops. Writing Assignments and Leadership Development – Summer CAYLA students are required to complete weekly reading and writing assignments as assigned by CAYLA program director. CAYLA students participate in the annual Me2We Conference in conjunction with the ASCORE Leadership Council, the Center for Diversity Education, the AVID Summer Bridge Program, MANOS, the JCC and Youth/OutRight. Community Service CAYLA students are involved in numerous community service and social justice projects throughout the summer and academic year. Accomplishments Total scholarship money (merit) awarded to CAYLA 2007 -2019 = $1,850,000 Total community service hours since 2007: 4,300 100% of CAYLA seniors have been accepted to college Contact Information Paul D’Angelo, Community Development Program Director 828 251 4098 Updated 02/19/2020 Related Services Business Inclusion The Business Inclusion Office for the City of Asheville actively seeks to identify minority and women-owned businesses for an opportunity to participate as providers of goods and services to the city. Apply for a commercial film or photography permit Information about commercial filming and photography work involving city-owned property, sidewalks, streets, and parks. Apply for a special event or festival permit Information about hosting an event on city-owned property, sidewalks, streets and parks. Cold weather emergency shelter When extreme cold weather is expected, the Asheville Homeless Coalition issues a Code Purple Alert. Participating homeless shelters voluntarily add space beyond their normal capacity to keep as many people as possible out of the cold. To find out when Code Purple is in effect, visit the Homeless Coalition’s Code [...] Find financial support for your Asheville business Learn about financial support that may be available for your business. Find or register a minority, women or disabled-owned business Resources for finding or registering a minority, women or disabled-owned business. More Related Services CAYLA News Asheville launches affordable housing initiative shaped by Harvard research Posted on September 15, 2020September 15, 2020 by Polly McDaniel Program is designed to help landlords make providing affordable housing more feasible Twenty-five landlords in Asheville now have a chance to be part of an innovative solution to the affordable housing crisis in our area. Thrive Asheville, an initiative of UNC Asheville that brings together local community advocates, policymakers, and professionals from diverse perspectives to find equitable solutions [...] Complete the Census to preserve federal funds for Asheville, Buncombe County Posted on August 24, 2020August 24, 2020 by Polly McDaniel Currently, North Carolina is severely undercounted in the 2020 Census. We are on track to lose $7.4 billion in federal funding annually. These are our tax dollars — hard earned and rightfully ours — and this funding is critical. The only way to access that money is to be fully counted. Here’s what it will affect: Roads [...] City of Asheville launches shared streets and parklet programs Posted on June 23, 2020 by Polly McDaniel The City of Asheville is continuing to support economic recovery by allowing businesses and organizations to use public and private properties more flexibly to align with public health guidelines. As businesses, particularly restaurants, continue to work through capacity constraints and physical distancing guidelines, the City has launched Parklets and Shared Streets as tools to temporarily create [...] More CAYLA News
Business Inclusion The Business Inclusion Office for the City of Asheville actively seeks to identify minority and women-owned businesses for an opportunity to participate as providers of goods and services to the city.
Apply for a commercial film or photography permit Information about commercial filming and photography work involving city-owned property, sidewalks, streets, and parks.
Apply for a special event or festival permit Information about hosting an event on city-owned property, sidewalks, streets and parks.
Cold weather emergency shelter When extreme cold weather is expected, the Asheville Homeless Coalition issues a Code Purple Alert. Participating homeless shelters voluntarily add space beyond their normal capacity to keep as many people as possible out of the cold. To find out when Code Purple is in effect, visit the Homeless Coalition’s Code [...]
Find financial support for your Asheville business Learn about financial support that may be available for your business.
Find or register a minority, women or disabled-owned business Resources for finding or registering a minority, women or disabled-owned business.
Asheville launches affordable housing initiative shaped by Harvard research Posted on September 15, 2020September 15, 2020 by Polly McDaniel Program is designed to help landlords make providing affordable housing more feasible Twenty-five landlords in Asheville now have a chance to be part of an innovative solution to the affordable housing crisis in our area. Thrive Asheville, an initiative of UNC Asheville that brings together local community advocates, policymakers, and professionals from diverse perspectives to find equitable solutions [...]
Complete the Census to preserve federal funds for Asheville, Buncombe County Posted on August 24, 2020August 24, 2020 by Polly McDaniel Currently, North Carolina is severely undercounted in the 2020 Census. We are on track to lose $7.4 billion in federal funding annually. These are our tax dollars — hard earned and rightfully ours — and this funding is critical. The only way to access that money is to be fully counted. Here’s what it will affect: Roads [...]
City of Asheville launches shared streets and parklet programs Posted on June 23, 2020 by Polly McDaniel The City of Asheville is continuing to support economic recovery by allowing businesses and organizations to use public and private properties more flexibly to align with public health guidelines. As businesses, particularly restaurants, continue to work through capacity constraints and physical distancing guidelines, the City has launched Parklets and Shared Streets as tools to temporarily create [...]