The framework built on the Mall will be dismantled following the event and trucked to Brownsville, Texas. It will then be reassembled to serve as a model for 84 additional affordable green homes YouthBuild students will construct for families whose homes were destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Dolly last summer.

Though many of the YouthBuild groups have been implementing green building practices into their new and rehab projects, this was the first national event devoted to green.

Recognizing the growing green movement and its economic opportunities, YouthBuild students are enthusiastic, reported a team of instructors from YouthBuild Philadelphia, which led the build-out of the house. “They realize they’re on the forefront; they’re excited,” explained Chris Pisano, noting the tremendous opportunity for green jobs. “Some of them feel like pioneers.”

“Green is America’s opportunity to leap forward in a smart, common-sense way,” said Richard Halpin, founder and CEO of American Youthworks, which oversees the Casa Verde Builders YouthBuild program in Austin, Texas, and was responsible for leading the event’s green efforts. The Austin group has been building affordable green homes for more than a decade, including 4- and 5-Star homes under the Austin Energy Green Building program. “This national meeting allows us to share these energy-efficient building skills across America,” Halpin said.

According to Halpin, studies show that young people without job skills can cost $2 million each in criminal justice costs. For 1% of that money, YouthBuild is training them to be energy-efficient-home builders.

Indeed, the rewards of YouthBuild were evident in every enthusiastic face in the tent of the closing ceremonies, which rocked with chants, cheers, and standing ovations for an all-star lineup of speakers that included YouthBuild graduates and government supporters such as Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), who has been an advocate for the organization since the early ’90s, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), and a representative for the Department of Labor. First Lady Michelle Obama had visited the students earlier in the day.

“I don’t care if it’s two houses or 2,000 houses,” Kerry said. “They all make a difference.”

With a push from the new presidential administration and a growing demand due to harsh economic conditions, community service is very much in the national spotlight. “Every one of these homes you’re bringing online is needed more than ever,” Kerry said. “You’re helping to build America here, not just yourselves.”