The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a government program during The Great Depression of the 1930's. It took young idle men off the streets, and put them to work in the countryside building trails, creating federal, state, and local parks, and planting almost 3 billion trees. Millions of American youth learned discipline, teamwork and a variety of skills, from landscaping to auto mechanics and basic electrical. They received room, board and $30 month -- $25 of which they were required to send home to their struggling families. The CCC had a quasi-military structure, and their motto was "Semper Patria Mea" (Always My Country) FDR planned to make it a permanent program but WWII changed all that.
In 1983, then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein founded the San Francisco Conservation Corps, creating the first urban municipal youth corps in the nation. It was an outgrowth of the California Conservation Corp. The organization recently celebrated its 35th anniversary.
"Since 1983, over 5,000 young people have taken the challenge to become Corps members, working 5 million hours on hundreds of landscaping, conservation, recycling and playground renovation projects to enhance the environment and communities of San Francisco. Throughout this work, thousands of Corps members have gained academic, environmental and work skills." https://www.sfcc.org
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