A Message from the Founding President Dear Friends, What a special year this has been! The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps community is as strong as ever. Our staff represents some of the most talented, caring, motivated people I have ever met. Our trustees have provided enormous leadership in guiding the organization forward, particularly this second year as we have settled into our new home, the Leadership, Education and Training Center, at the (Big Red) West Monitor Barn in Richmond. However, as I reflect back, what strikes me the most are the many stories which our alumni have shared about this year’s experience. Whether you were on a traditional back-country crew, one of the new year-round school crews, part of the leadership retreat, or a pioneer in LEAP (program for blind and visually impaired youth), what you have accomplished has been amazing and inspiring! Please know how proud I am of each of you for what you have accomplished for Vermont, her natural areas, your communities, and most, for yourselves. I will be watching to see how each of you will impact our world and make a difference – you will! My door is always open. As your story becomes richer and fuller with each passing experience know that I am eagerly waiting to hear from you and be updated. Most enthusiastically, Thomas Hark Founding President [email protected] Program Overview What is the VYCC? The VYCC is a non-profit service, conservation, and education organization. Our mission is to teach individuals to take personal responsibility for all of their actions. We accomplish this mission by forming small teams of young people who work with excellent adult leaders to complete high-priority conservation projects. The challenges and experiences each crew must overcome to be successful create an ideal setting to develop leadership, teamwork, and communication skills. Each year, the Corps hires almost 300 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 to manage state parks, build trails, restore rivers and streams, and improve community greenspaces. The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) was founded in 1985 with a one dollar appropriation from the Vermont Legislature. Since then, it has served more than 4,200 young people from every county in Vermont, and has completed several million dollars worth of priority conservation work throughout the state. Since moving into the West Monitor Barn just over two years ago, the VYCC has quickly become more than just a great summer program for hundreds of Vermont youth statewide. This beautifully restored barn has already allowed us to expand to year-round offerings, including a Youth in Agriculture and Natural Resources Program in partnership with local schools, which serves high-school students at risk of not completing high school. In addition, our ten-month long Conservation and Community Leadership Program staffs Vermont State Parks from spring through fall, and members complete public service projects with local non-profits in the winter. National Disaster Relief Crews (five fielded to date) help communities recover from natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, summer Leadership Retreats held at the Barn assist our Corps Members in developing community service projects and equip them with the skills needed to implement them in their home communities, and this summer was the pilot of our Learn, Earn and Prosper (LEAP) Program for blind and visually impaired youth. 2 93 Summer Crew Types During the summer, the VYCC hires youth to work on the following types of crews: Wilderness Crews Wilderness Crews represent a very physically and mentally demanding experience, where Corps Members and Crew Leaders spend three to four weeks at a time living and working in backcountry settings where the luxuries of home are few and far between. During this time, crews complete essential trail restoration projects and learn to live in a community that is focused on mutual respect and understanding. By placing Corps Members in a setting that is virtually devoid of modern distractions and conveniences like showers, electricity, computers, and running water, an environment is created that is conducive to tremendous growth. Vermont State Park Crews (CCL) The VYCC, in its fourteenth year of successful partnership with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, fields Park Crews to manage every aspect of four Vermont State Parks (Allis, North Hero, Elmore and Lowell Lake) from grounds maintenance to customer service. By taking responsibility for complete park operations, Corps Members learn personal responsibility, environmental educational programming, attention to detail, customer service skills, accounting and bookkeeping, conflict resolution, time management, respect for the environment, and diligence, while gaining many transferable job skills. LEAP – Learn, Earn, and Prosper This summer, the VYCC offered a new program specifically for youth who are blind or visually impaired. The goal of the Learn, Earn, and Prosper (LEAP) program is to make the VYCC experience accessible for youth who have visual disabilities. Roving Crews Roving Crews provide a very unique opportunity for Corps Members to complete projects that tie into a broader landscape. Crews literally rove around the Vermont landscape, working on a minimum of two distinct projects within a three or four week session. They typically camp in State Parks and so are afforded some of the conveniences and comforts of home such as showers and running water while completing high-priority conservation work. Community Crews Seven-week long Community Crews serve the unique function of allowing Corps Members to complete high-priority conservation work in their hometowns in a non-residential setting. Each crew unites in the morning at a central location where their van and tools are cached. Community Crew Corps Members are exposed to many local current events and complete an amazing array of challenging projects in their hometowns. They are inspired to remain connected to their communities and strive to create projects to leave their own positive mark on the society closest to their lives. 4 Year-Round Programs Since moving into the Leadership, Education and Training Center at the West Monitor Barn two years ago, the VYCC has been able to expand to work outside the traditional summer months to provide programs with a longer timeframe to encourage superior outcomes for targeted populations. Youth in Agriculture and Natural Resources Last year, the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps ushered in a new program to engage and challenge Vermont youth with the opportunity to participate in a work-based learning program as part of their regular school day. This new program partners with Mount Mansfield Union High School (Jericho, VT), the Center for Technology – Essex (Essex, VT), and Lamoille Union High School (Hyde Park, VT). Crews complete high priority projects with local farmers, natural resource professionals, and community organizations, while earning full academic credit for their participation. As a work and project- based learning program, interns are challenged academically and professionally through their daily work. Conservation and Community Leadership (CCL) For the past three years the VYCC has been a participating Lee River Internships organization in the AmeriCorps National Direct Program. In 2007 For the past two the VYCC incorporated summer management of four Vermont years, the VYCC has State Parks, direct conservation, and high priority community partnered with the Lee service to create a comprehensive AmeriCorps experience called River Program and the the Conservation and Community Leadership (CCL) Program. The Vermont Department CCL program is designed to teach effective leadership, community of Labor throughout living, and job skills through active stewardship and service to the school year to Vermont’s state parks, lands, and communities. The program employ youth at the exposes Corps Members to a broad spectrum of conservation VYCC Leadership, experiences through completion of high-priority conservation Education & Training projects while allowing them to develop their leadership skills and Center, at the West gain a wide base of transferable job skills. Monitor Barn, in Richmond, VT. The AmeriCorps VISTA VYCC’s experience The AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) with this program has program aims to leverage human, financial, and material resources been very successful, to community organizations that provide services to low-income as it creates both a individuals. The program enrolls full-time members in roles that worthwhile and meaningful experience for high school students create, expand, and enhance such programs. in the local area, while VYCC employees have the opportunity to carry out a mentor-type role and positively influence youth In 2007, the VYCC enrolled seven AmeriCorps*VISTA members, in our direct community. including three Youth in Agriculture and Natural Resources VISTAs, who provided the foundation for our new school based program. Disaster Relief Other members included a Technical Development VISTA and In 2007, the VYCC fielded one Disaster Response Crew to an Operations VISTA, both of which improved the quality of assist with cleanup from the damage caused by Hurricane our existing summer programs, a Facilities and Events VISTA Katrina. As the last of a series of five Disaster Response who enhanced our ability to manage a new facility and land, and Crews, the 2007 Crew traveled to Pearlington, Mississippi to finally