Happy Holidays!!

Wishing you the joy of family, the gift of friends, and the best of everything in 2013. Our sincere thanks for your support and good will throughout the year.

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WE’RE HIRING!!

Mile High Youth Corps is now accepting applications for multiple youth positions in two separate programs.

The AmeriCorps Leadership & Conservation program is a demanding, team-based, leadership experience providing diverse service opportunities in education, community outreach, youth development, and physical labor to achieve a common goal: environmental conservation.  ACLCs have the opportunity to work across all of our other programs and play an integral leadership role at Mile High Youth Corps. The position is a 10-month commitment, earns a bi-weekly stipend of $553.07, and is eligible for an AmeriCorps Education Award of $5,550. Corpsmembers must be able to serve from January 28, 2013 to December 13, 2013.

The Energy & Water Conservation program gives young people the chance to help residents in the Denver Metro Area to upgrade their homes and save money. Corpsmembers will perform efficiency upgrades on utilities in homes to reduce utility bills and benefit the environment. In addition, energy and water crews educate clients on conservation measures, which will help residents further reduce their consumption and costs. Positions are a 5-month commitment, earn a stipend ranging between $256-$288 per week, and are eligible for a $2,114.00 AmeriCorps Education Award. Corpsmembers must be available to serve from January 28, 2013 to June 28, 2013. For all positions, for which we are currently hiring, applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 24 and must have either their GED or High School Diploma by the start date for each program.

Click here for more information about these and all open positions at Mile High Youth Corps.

Check out these pictures to get an idea for some of the projects you would be working on.

Taking a break after installing a high-efficiency toilet!

Removing some noxious weeds.

About to install a high-efficiency toilet!

Cutting down some trees to prevent wild fires.

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Two Weeks and Counting!

The count down has started and we are looking forward to you joining us to celebrate what we’ve built together over the past 20 years! This commemorative evening will take place at Mile High Station and will start with a cocktail hour from 5:30-6:30pm.

Our silent auction will boast unique Best of Denver, Best of Colorado and Family packages as well as a Premier Club Level Suite, with seating for 20, at the Pepsi Center for any Avalanche, Nugget or Mammoth regular 2012-13 season home game.

Our Wall of Wine will provide a wide variety of wines including many Colorado wineries that will tickle your taste buds for only a $20 donation.

To reserve your spot register online or contact Michele Bishop, Director of Development at 720.407.7281 ext 324 or micheleb@mhyc.net.

Individual tickets are available for $100 and tables seating 10 are available for $1,000.

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MHYC Heads to the Capitol for “Hill Day”

Getting up and getting fancy for an important ceremony starting at 8:15 a.m. on a Monday is not exactly the most appealing idea to many young adults. However for 10 Colorado youth, they could not have been more honored. On Monday, Feb. 6, the Colorado Youth Corps Association (CYCA) held their annual awards ceremony at the Colorado State Capitol to celebrate the hard work and passionate dedication that 10 youth corps members showed during their service terms.

After CYCA set up light breakfast foods and directional signs, all guests gathered in the old Supreme Court Chambers. Parents chatted and adjusted digital cameras, award winners straightened ties and smoothed hair, politicians mingled and perfected speeches. One by one, Corpsmembers of the Year from all corners of Colorado were verbally praised by their area’s state representatives or senators, as they were awarded plaques. A few folks from the Bureau of Land Management and a Mile High Youth Corps Corpsmember, Samuel Vasquez, spoke more eloquent words regarding their service and appreciation for the CYCA. (View Sam’s speech here.) After a lovely brunch at History Colorado, following the ceremony, a new sense of admiration was felt not only for the individual corps, but for those who are actually serving for them.

For photos, please visit the CYCA Flickr site.

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Janari McCampbel: MHYC-CS 2011 Corpsmember of the Year

Mile High Youth Corps in Colorado Springs is proud to name nineteen-year-old Janari McCampbel as our Corpsmember of the Year. “JJ” is a Colorado Springs native, has been with our Corps for two Summer-of-Service years, and has earned education awards totaling $2,415 to date. He is now a freshman at Pueblo Community College majoring in Automotive Technology.

Janari’s corps career began on a day crew in 2010. Mile High Youth Corps was his first job. He came wanting to do something “physical” and putting his passion for restoring the environment to use. With some good, early coaching from a Crew Leader who saw his potential, he began to immediately improve his performance, learn new skills, and take on more responsibility; he has never looked back. At the end of the 2010 season, Janari “exceeded expectations” in all areas of his evaluation. His crew leader reported, “JJ works hard at all times and motivates others to do the same. He is a constant positive force.”

In 2011 Janari again applied to work on a day crew. Unfortunately only Camp Crew positions were available and wilderness camping was new to Janari and his family. They had many concerns about him accepting a position where he could be camped in the backcountry for up to ten days at a time. But Janari persevered in his wish to try a camping crew and convinced his parents to let him try. In a much more challenging environment, he continued to thrive and lead. His Crew Leader described Janari as someone who “self-initiates tasks and always volunteers for more; someone I can count on.” Janari says the corps experience has had, “a very positive effect on my life.” However, everyone knows that Janari has a very positive effect on the corps too.

Janari McCampbel: MHYC-CS 2011 Corpsmember of the Year

For more information on the awards ceremony (Feb. 6, 2012), please visit www.CYCA.org.

Youth Corps Awards Ceremony Invitation

Or for a PDF version of the invitation: YouthCorpsAwardsCeremonyInvitation

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Summer Begins

Summer is officially here at MHYC – our Summer of Service crews are busy loading up the trucks and vans this morning, packing up chain saws and shovels, water jugs and sack lunches.

After spending last week in trainings at the Colorado Youth Corps Association camping trip, our AmeriCorps Leadership and Conservation Corpsmembers are eager to get out into the field and put their knowledge to the test.

Today is day one of a summer spent getting dirty and getting things done. Stay tuned for tales from the field – success stories of trails built and trees conquered.

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From Mile High City to Rocky Mountains

Some of us forgot water bottles. Sleeping bags. Mess kits. Some of us didn’t know what a mess kit was. Some of us had never been to the mountains. Never been camping. Never gone five days without a shower. We are the seventeen AmeriCorps Leadership and Conservation (ACLC) 2009 corpsmembers, working for Mile High Youth Corps (MHYC) since February. Shockingly enough, we survived and — gasp — some might even say enjoyed our Colorado Youth Corps Association (CYCA) camping trip.

On Monday morning we loaded up our backpacks, jammed coolers full of food and headed up the winding roads toward Golden Gate State Park. On the drive up, some of us slept, some of us daydreamed about building the perfect fire, and some of us watched the tall buildings of Denver and the noise of Federal Boulevard fade into the rear view mirror. We said goodbye to cell phone service and flush toilets and said hello to tall pine trees and marshmallows browned on sticks.

We spent the week learning how to properly build trails and rock walls, how to become successful leaders, and we embedded ourselves deeper into the culture of youth corps, learning the importance and magnitude of being a part of something bigger than ourselves. Each day, we woke with the sun after freezing nights bundled in sleeping bags, packed our bags with PB and J’s, water bottles and rain gear and headed out to workshops.

We were divided into different classes based on the specific crews we will be working on this summer. Some of us learned how to give important environmental education presentations while some us spent the day trying to keep up with 80-something-year-old Steve Austin as he rained his extensive trail building knowledge upon us. We were out in the field using tools, sweating under hard hats and getting a taste of the exciting summer months ahead of us.

On our last night we huddled around the campfire as the stars came out, told ghost stories and — even though some of us didn’t want to admit it — thought about how quickly the week passed. Friday morning we filed back into the vans and headed back to Denver with dirt under our fingernails dreaming of the showers and beds awaiting our arrival. Some of us had their first camping trip officially under their belt. Some of us learned skills we will use this summer and later in life. Some of us still had the grit of cowboy coffee stuck in between their teeth. But all of us survived.

Vanessa Notman, MHYC Corpsmember

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