American YouthWorks in Austin, Texas receives funding from both CNCS and YouthBuild for its Casa Verde Builders, Computer Corps, Environmental Corps and Green Energy Corps.  These programs allow students and graduates to participate in community service, gain job skills and earn money for college while serving low income Austinites by building energy efficient homes, refurbishing computers and performing weatherization measures and by improving public lands through trail building and maintenance, habitat restoration for endangered species and invasive species removal. 

Here are a few things that AYW Corps members have accomplished in 2010 alone:

• Computer Corps, a green jobs training program that trains youth in refurbishing used computers which are then distributed to nonprofits and low income residents, saved 59 computers from landfills. C-Corps members also provide free technology training to low-income/low-skilled individuals. C-Corps addresses the “Digital Divide” need which is the lack of access to technology and technology training for low-income/low-skilled individuals.
• By refurbishing and repairing used computers, C-Corps members reduce the demand for new computers and the raw materials and energy needed to produce them and prevent used computers from illegally entering the landfills. Computers that are not properly disposed of present environmental problems and health threats because they contain heavy metals, such as lead and mercury.  
• Environmental Corps completed the restoration and construction of 28 miles of trails, restored 337 acres of native habitat and performed $61,000 worth of in-kind work.
• Green Energy Corps members made improvements to 200 homes for low income families; including weatherization, repairs and accessibility projects.
• Casa Verde Builders program participants built two houses, repaired eight homes and 33 participants graduated.

• An AYW home, built by participants of Casa Verde Builders, is one of 16 homes that is being featured in the 2011 Cool House Tour and is unique in that it was built by at-risk youth for low income, first time homebuyers. 
• Participants of the Casa Verde Builders program learn cutting-edge, green construction techniques by building energy efficient homes from foundation to finish.  Each participant earns a bi-weekly stipend, which helps many students whose income supports a family. They also graduate from AYW with job skills and nationally recognized certifications that give them an edge in finding employment.
• In partnership with the US Department of Labor and YouthBuild USA, CVB is a nationally-recognized leader in combining education for youth with green building and affordable housing.  Since the start of the program in 1994, over 1,000 participants have gone through the program, building over 80 energy-efficient, affordable homes.

In the words of one Casa Verde Builder Corpsmember, “Coming from a rundown home with six children and a single mother, I never thought I would graduate from high school or step foot into a college.  After constant work and studying for a year with AYW, I managed to obtain a GED and start attending college, becoming the first in my family to do so.”