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Vermont Youth Conservation Corps - December 2006 |
Happy Holidays from all of us
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Youth in Agriculture and Natural Resources Program Hits the Ground Running!On November 13th, 11 students from Mount Mansfield Union High School (MMU) and Lamoille Union High School (LUHS) began as interns in the fully accredited Youth in Agriculture and Natural Resources Program. The program is a comprehensive and intensive hands-on learning environment that is structured as a job with a very different set of rules, standards, and expectations from a traditional high school and from which students will earn a small daily participation stipend during the school year, and minimum wage in the summer. The program features projects ranging from helping design a crop rotation plan for the Intervale Healthy City Garden in Burlington, to helping a UVM researcher with a bobcat study, to learning more about the Abenaki culture and its agricultural and naturalist roots. The LUHS program is based at the school in Hyde Park, while the MMU program is based out of the Youth Leadership, Education and Training Center at the West Monitor Barn. This project is a statewide collaboration between UVM Extension, Smokey House Project, and the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. Our project partners include the State of Vermont, Mount Mansfield High School, Lamoille Union High School, and AmeriCorps VISTA. If you would like to learn more about this program, or stop by the Barn to see our students in action, please contact Thomas Hark at 434-3969 ext. 100 or thomas@vycc.org. 
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Gulf Coast Recovery ContinuesVYCC continues to send crews to help support Hurricane Katrina victims as part of the VYCC's Disaster Relief program. Our fourth nine-person VYCC Crew this year departed Vermont for the Gulf Coast on November 30th, joining crews from Florida, Utah, and Minnesota as part of a Gulf Coast Recovery Corps sponsored by the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps (NASCC). The Vermont crew is currently working at Buccaneer State Park, a 398-acre Mississippi State Park that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, where they are helping to restore the park by hauling debris, restoring trails, rebuilding fences and barriers, and performing other critical work. The crew will return home on Wednesday, December 20. In addition to the work they have completed, we are hoping to send another crew in February, if funding allows, to continue helping to rebuild and repair areas that are still devastated one year later. This holiday season, please support our Hurricane Katrina Recovery Crews and make a donation to help send another crew to the Gulf Coast. For more information, please contact Kate Villa at 434-3969 ext. 110 or kate@vycc.org. |
Alternative Gift Opportunities at the VYCC!Today's Burlington Free Press contains a front page article featuring long-time VYCC supporters Wendy and Scott McArdle, who chose to give each other a $1,000 brick to support the West Monitor Barn restoration project in lieu of traditional gift giving. From the Ben & Jerry's Alternative Gift Fair on December 6, at which the VYCC was a designated charity, to one of our donors who made 21 gifts of $50 in honor of each of his employees, the VYCC has been touched by the swell of people's desire to give to the VYCC in honor of someone they care about for the holiday season! Click here to read the article. From a gift to the VYCC of a WoRD book ($10 gift), a shovel ($28 gift) or a personalized engraved brick ($1,000 gift), every dollar given as an alternative gift counts as we expand our programs and complete our West Monitor Barn Capital Campaign. Please make a gift to Vermont's youth this holiday season, and help us reach more youth in new and exciting ways! For more information, please contact Kate Villa at 434-3969 ext. 110 or kate@vycc.org. |
The VYCC is now hiring for 2007!We have 35 Crew Leader positions, over 200 Corps Member positions, and 22 full-time AmeriCorps National Direct positions available for Summer 2007. If you or someone you know would like to enroll, lead a crew, or be a national service volunteer, please check our website or contact us for more information! Our staff and crews will complete high priority conservation projects and live in the beautiful Vermont outdoors for the summer. These are incredible positions to build one's resume, inspire personal and professional growth and be challenged! Our crews operate ten months of the year with new positions starting as early as March 2007. All positions are paid, and an AmeriCorps education award is available for qualified applicants. Visit our website to apply online! For more information, please contact Matt Brantner at 434-3969 ext. 200 or info@vycc.org. |
Faces Behind our SuccessCara Butterly and Sara Armstrong are AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteers who serve as the Instructors for the MMU and LUHS Youth in Agriculture and Natural Resources Crews. From helping to design the program, to facilitating WoRD discussions, to getting dirty on the ground, these two young women are true leaders. Thanks Cara and Sara for your dedication, hard work and inspirational teaching skills! |
Quote of the Month"I had a great time and think it's the best way to be outside, do work that matters, learn about trail work, and meet new people." Erica Hildebrand, Wilderness Crew Member |
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