YouthBuild International engages young people in service to others in need by building tangible community assets such as houses, community centers, playgrounds, and 'green infrastructure'. The program's multi-disciplinary design brings school, work, neighborhood revitalization, and personal transformation into a unified approach. Youth demonstrate their eagerness and capacity to improve their own neighborhoods and communities, and gain a keen sense of the impact of their contributions. At the same time they combat negative stereotypes by demonstrating their own responsibility and productivity. Service work in communities sparks an awareness and interest in the process and systems of community economic development and encourages young people to participate as citizens. Their community building efforts bring them in direct contact with beneficiaries of their work, local leaders, employers, other important contacts.

In Mexico, young people are engaged in an internationally recognized effort to restore the historic center city; in Canada, students are building affordable housing; in Serbia young people developed new NGOs to respond to a range of community needs including AIDS education and inter-ethnic dialogue; in Central America and South Africa young people are constructing housing; teams of YouthBuild students are working on reconstruction in the Katrina-devastated Gulf Coast.