National Civic League Recognizes San Antonio With 2023 City Award

Published on June 15, 2023

San Antonio leads the nation as the city with the most All-America City Awards

SAN ANTONIO (June 15, 2023) – The City of San Antonio was one of 10 cities bestowed with the 2023 All-America City Award from the National Civic League (NCL). San Antonio was recognized for its NXT LEVEL Youth Opportunity Centers, San Antonio Youth Commission, Teen Ambassadors, Bexar County Fostering Educational Success, and Future Ready Plan. 

The theme for this year’s All-America City Award was “Creating Thriving Communities through Youth Engagement.” The All-America City Award recognized 10 cities for their efforts in civic engagement, collaboration, inclusiveness, and innovation to address issues at the local level. This recognition focuses on communities that involve and offer opportunities for area youth in their local efforts. 

The NCL noted this year’s award recognized projects that include, but are not limited to, those that build the civic capacity of young people, promote youth participation in voting and policymaking, provide leadership opportunities for youth, improve mental health and trauma systems for youth, reduce poverty and income inequality, and more. 

“The City of San Antonio is proud to receive this award for the ninth time since the All-America City Award was first created in 1949,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “This award brings a spotlight to the amazing work being done to help our youth population in San Antonio.”

The NCL confirmed that San Antonio has the most All-America City Awards in the nation since the program started in 1949.

Assistant City Manager Lori Houston also said, “San Antonio is again recognized for community engagement that is moving the youth population to unlimited opportunities. While this award puts San Antonio on a national stage, our focus is always on the overall wellbeing of the local community.”

One of the representatives for this recognition included the Project Worth Teen Ambassador and San Antonio Youth Commissioner from District 4, Ella Danica. 

“Being able to represent my city as a San Antonio Youth Commissioner and a Project Worth Teen Ambassador from Metro Health was an honor and privilege,” expressed Ella Danica. “This trip has allowed me to broaden my network amongst young people across the nation. It also gave me the opportunity to learn new and innovative ways to better involve young people in important decision-making. Through this experience, I now understand that youth voice is something that needs to be paid attention to because we are not only the future, but we are the present!”

Recognized Organizations and Partnerships in San Antonio  

NXT LEVEL Youth Opportunity Center, managed by the City of San Antonio’s Department of Human Services in collaboration with Goodwill and Communities in Schools, connects disengaged youth with education and career opportunities. Each participant at NXT Level receives a life coach and an education/career coach who create individualized plans and provide continuous support for career, stability, and mental wellness. 

Derek Laird, NXT LEVEL Youth Voice Advisory Board Lead, said, “I was surprised to see youth from other communities had similar needs surrounding mental health and it was cool to see how important youth voice is to other cities as well. I liked learning how other cities supported their youth. I'm inspired to advocate for my peers and suggest some of the strategies I learned. I'm also proud to be one of the youth members representing San Antonio and it was awesome to see that our city really cares about youth. It was great to share how our city incorporated youth voice in their programming across all different agencies and I'm proud to be a part of NXT Level, where no decisions are made about us without us!”

The San Antonio Youth Commission (SAYC) and Metro Health’s Project Worth Teen Ambassadors were instrumental in amplifying the voice of our younger residents and highlighting many of the mental health challenges young people are experiencing in San Antonio. The San Antonio Youth Commission (SAYC) advises Mayor and City Council on important youth issues. SAYC members develop policy recommendations and organize city-wide benefitting youth in our community. Project Worth Teen Ambassadors promote the health and well-being of youth in San Antonio through education, collaboration, and empowerment. The Project Worth Teen Ambassador program helps to meet that mission by providing youth an opportunity to share their voices, creativity, and ideas that bring action to teen health.  

Bexar County Fostering Education Success (BCFES) has assembled partners across child welfare, the Children’s Court, and two- and four-year colleges in Bexar County that work together for the common goal of improving educational outcomes for foster care alumni and children still in foster care. BCFES is an evidence-based, trauma-informed strategic framework providing youth aging out of foster care with barrier-free access to education and housing. 

UP Partnership’s Future Ready Plan utilizes youth voice as the center for this plan and serves as the City’s shared mission to increase post-secondary enrollment of Bexar County high school graduates in a degree or credential program to 70 percent by 2030. Additionally, partners committed to the Future Ready Plan provide leaders with shared language, goals, metrics, and practices needed to drive progress on youth outcomes in the community.

Originally founded in 1989, San Antonio Education Partnership’s (SAEP) mission is to create college opportunities, access, and success in the San Antonio community. SAEP services are provided at local high schools and at the City of San Antonio’s cafécollege. Annually, they award nearly 2,000 scholarships to college students in San Antonio.

The other 2023 All-America City Award winners included Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas, Texas; Davie County, North Carolina; Decatur, Georgia; Fayetteville, North Carolina; Gonzales, California; Hampton, Virginia; Mesa, Arizona; and Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. 

More information about this recognition can be found in the National Civic League website.