Now Hiring for YouthBuild

The 2010 YouthBuild Corpsmembers have just a couple of months left in their term with a graduation ceremony set for July 29th. Check out this video of current YouthBuild Corpsmember Shawnie Reid talking about how the program has helped him to better his life.

Mile High Youth Corps’ YouthBuild program employees 18-24 year olds looking to earn their GEDs and gain construction and leadership skills. The nine month program splits time between a classroom where Corpsmembers are given support and education to earn their GEDs and a construction site where they learn green construction skills and build low-income housing. They also work closely with Mile High Youth Corps’ staff members who assist them in resume writing, job searching and building other life skills.

Corpsmembers get paid an hourly wage and also receive an AmeriCorps education award upon completion of their term which they can use toward college, vocational school or other types of higher education and careers.

Are you or someone you know between the ages of 18 and 24 and interested in earning a GED and construction skills? YouthBuild might be right for you. Apply today!

In Person: 695 Canosa Court
Online: http://www.milehighyouthcorps.org
Questions? Call 303.433.1206 opt. 1, ext. 325

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Becoming Paul Bunyan

As a child, I loved hearing tall tales about a legendary lumberjack who could take down a giant tree with one swing of his axe….a true outdoorsman whose faithful companion was a giant blue ox…. a man who was larger than life….a character who epitomized fortitude ….Paul Bunyan. Little did I know as a child, that one day I would follow in Paul Bunyan’s footsteps and become a lumberjack myself.

My journey to becoming a lumberjack has not been easy, and honestly, my prior professional commitments would probably be frowned upon by Sir Bunyan. Before joining Mile High Youth Corps, I worked as a Project Manager at a Healthcare Software Company. I was a “point and clicker” as my lumberjack mentor would later declare. Not very Paul Bunyan like I must admit, but during my time in the business world I was able to shadow my inner child’s discontent through various Paul Bunyan approved activities such as climbing mountains, sleeping in the woods, and competing in physically demanding actives. However, my Paul Bunyan aspirations could only be contained for so long. After two years behind a desk, I quit and set out in search of adventure, mountains and new challenges. The search ended when I found Mile High Youth Corps.

I have had many great experiences at MHYC, but nothing has made my inner child smile like last week’s chain saw training in Salida, CO. Everything about the experience reminds me of Paul Bunyan.

For the training, we stayed in a large log cabin called the Ponderosa Lodge. The Lodge is nestled against the Rocky Mountains and outfitted with a barn that has failed to contain a roaming llama know as “Tina.” The rooms at the lodge are appropriately equipped with rustic wooden bunk beds, and yellow shag carpeting on the walls. The instructors at the training obviously knew of Paul Bunyan based on their attempts to copy his facial hair and wardrobe. The menu at the lodge was created for lumberjacks. Lots of eggs, sausage, beef, mash potatoes and other hearty items. Also, the cafeteria servers did not scorn me when I came back to the food line for fourths. Yes indeed… Paul Bunyan would endorse the Ponderosa Lodge.

The training itself was also quite remarkable. The first day was classroom based, and focused on teaching us how to avoid losing any limbs. After the class work, we went into the mountains for hands on training. Decked out in chaps, hardhats, and other protective gear our group looked like a bunch of Superheroes ready to rid the forest of evil disease and hazard trees. My first significant Paul Bunyan moment came to fruition as I yelled “TREE FALLING” and heard my tree hit the ground and shake the earth around me. Awesome.

I am now chain saw certified and one step closer to the legend that I idolized as a child. Next step: find a giant blue ox.

-Collin Hoffmann, AmeriCorps Leadership and Conservation Corpsmember

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Summer of Service Starts Today

AmeriCorps Leadership and Conservation Corpsmembers anxiously wait to meet the new Summer of Service Corpsmebmers.

They aren’t yet decked in their cargo pants and green T-shirts. They haven’t yet felt the feeling of dirt-coated skin after a trail well built. They have yet to feel the deep slumber after a day of bucking and limbing with their chain saws.

They are bright-eyed and ready. They are the 2010 Summer of Service Corpsmembers and today is the day they begin what may quite possibly be the hardest summer of their lives.

Corpsmembers gather for name games and ice breakers.

They will soon know the feeling of sunscreen mixed with dirt mixed with woodchips coating the backs of their necks, their arms, their faces. They will get familiar with sweaty bandanas tucked under hard hats. They will learn the language of Mile High Youth Corps – they will soon be fluent in acronyms and tools and trail terms.

Today 46 strangers walked through our doors and in two and a half months they will leave as friends with stories and inside jokes and a summer well spent tucked deep in their dirty, cargo pockets.

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Welcome Summer of Service Corpsmembers

We’re settling into our new digs at 695 Canosa Court and gearing up for the start of our Summer of Service Program. Tomorrow we welcome 46 new Corpsmembers to the Mile High Youth Corps team for orientation. We have five land conservation crews this summer: Hayman, Clinton, Pathfinders, Trailblazers and Rockclimbers. We’ll be posting updates from the field as they build rock walls, maintain trails, cut down trees and help to conserve some of Colorado’s most beautiful outdoor spaces.

We’re looking forward to meeting all the new Corpsmembers and hope they’re looking forward to a challenging and exciting summer!

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Energy Conservation Program Featured on 9NEWS

9News recently featured the Energy Conservation Program at Mile High Youth Corps (MHYC) and also highlighted the Corps as its morning newscast “Job of the Day.” Thanks to MHYC Corpsmembers Jovanna Rodriguez and Dylan Miley, along with Conservation Alumni Mentor Steve Lynch, who wonderfully represented the agency. Click here to see the broadcast!

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“Hanging Out” – A Day at the Ropes Course

After spending the last few months working in homes doing energy retrofits, us AmeriCorps Leadership and Conservation (ACLC) Corpsmembers are now about to embark on our summer of service programs. However, before we start our summers, we were rewarded for our excellent work with a day of fun…and learning. Little did we know it would turn into one of the greatest Friday’s here at MHYC.

We arrived with little idea of what the day would have in store for us other than team building at a ropes course. We hopped in the vans and headed toward the mountains. After a short ride up a mountain and a quick hike we had arrived at our final destination. At first it didn’t look like much, just a large open area surrounded by trees and an outhouse. However, it was much more. Hidden within these trees and the open area were challenges that all of us would have to face.

We started the morning with some team building activities with Julie, Scott and Chuck who would be our hosts and guides. After some time balancing ones forehead on top of another’s knee we were ready to start moving around.
Our guides decided it was time to bust out the big rope, or what looked like a jump rope for giants…or just two extremely large children. During this exercise we had to get everyone under or over the rope as it was swinging. Sounds easy, but it certainly was a lot more difficult. After jumping over the rope we broke up into two groups and did more team builders such as whale boat where you must balance a large seesaw plank with all your teammates on it. Once we were done with our small groups we ate lunch and then let the real fun begin.

After a lesson on how to wear the harness and helmets properly we were ready to take on any challenges that lay ahead.

We were all then introduced to the course. Over the next few hours we would work in teams to climb 40 feet in the air and form a moving pyramid as we moved across the wire. After trying the pyramid movement on the ground we moved up to the tree. Once reaching the platform we carefully had to step onto the wire. Once on the wire we stared deeply into our partners eyes (which was advised by the guides) to help stabilize ourselves as our bodies stretched across the air. We began to move across the wire, and slowly as the two wires became farther apart so did we, until we could no longer hold on and we fell off turning ourselves into Mission Impossible spy’s as we were lowered to the ground.

Another course we did was to “climb the giant’s ladder”. This next activity took a lot of patience, strength, and a strong will to complete. Again we were paired up and began our climb towards the top of the 40 foot ladder. This journey up the ladder was a lot more difficult than one might imagine. With each beam just at the right height where one had to hang upside down, swing their leg over and use all their strength to reach the next, you were completely exhausted by the time you reached the summit.

As the day came to a close we had one last challenge. This was to climb a telephone pole and jump out 7 feet to a trapeze bar. The telephone pole really challenged the inner climber in each of us. After practicing how to balance on a low pole, we were ready for the real thing. One at a time we scaled the pole and had to balance ourselves on top of the VERY small surface the pole provides. Once balanced it was all guts that would take you to the next step…3…2…1…JUMP!!! You hurled yourself toward that bar, arms stretched out, hoping you would make that connection. And once you did, a sense of joy and satisfaction came across you.

For all of us the ropes course was a day of fun, excitement and team bonding. From cheering each other on, whether it was on the giants ladder or standing tall on the pole, to making a pyramid high in the trees we certainly knew that we all were there in full support of each other. For some, the day was a walk in the park, where heights, harnesses, and ropes don’t bother you. But for many it was a day to face their fear of heights and conquer the ropes course. The looks at the end of the day certainly show that the goals everyone set in the beginning were met.

-Brendan Michaud, 2010 AmeriCorps Leadership and Conservation Corpsmember

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MHYC Hiring for Energy and Water Corpsmembers

Mile High Youth Corps is currently hiring 18-24 year olds for our Energy and Water Conservation Programs. Apply here.

Both programs are a five month commitment in which youth work forty hours a week doing energy and water conservation in low-income homes and nonprofit organizations. Corpsmembers get paid an hourly wage and also receive an AmeriCorps Education Award upon completion of their term.

Energy Conservation Corpsmembers install energy-saving light bulbs and water-saving showerheads and sink aerators into client’s homes while educating them on the benefits of saving energy and water. Water Conservation Corpsmembers replace toilets that use 2.5 or more gallons of water per flush with water efficient toilets that use only one gallon per flush. All Corpsmembers recieve job rediness training and participate in service projects in the community.

Mile High Youth Corps is looking for hard working, committed youth to join our team and help make a difference in our commmunity. For more information visit our website www.milehighyouthcorps.org.

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