The two central components of MCSC are preparing young people for the workforce and doing tangible work for the community. In the process, the youth develop their own sense of community. This is accomplished by assigning corps members to one of a series of work crews to complete community service projects. Assignments are made based on individual interest and corps members receive hourly wages with opportunities for advancement within the crew. All MCSC corps members receive academic instruction to help them obtain their high school equivalency diploma or continue towards post-secondary education.
Participants spend four days a week at worksites and one day in academic instruction.
The initiative's strong collaborative relationships with local, state and national entities and coalitions involve the corps members and the staff in a wide variety of activities, often related to current social issues. In 1999 -2000, the crews concentrated on housing rehabilitation, lead abatement, restoring public housing, community gardening, as well as construction, carpentry, landscaping, masonry, painting, graffiti removal and river cleanup. One rehab project is the development of Corps House, a 10-unit apartment complex acquired from the City that will house past and present MCSC corps members. The crews are funded by various federal or state programs, including YouthBuild, AmeriCorps, Step-Up Apprenticeship Program, ClearCorps and Wisconsin Fresh Start. Organization and Management OM5 Funding MCSC attracts diverse funding sources, from the local, state and national levels, and from private foundations and corporations as well as public agencies.