Made in AmeriCorps – AmeriCorps Week 2013

This Saturday, March 9^th, marks the beginning of AmeriCorps week!

AmeriCorps Week aims to build awareness of national community service in communities across the country.  AmeriCorps members have completed one billion hours of service since 1994, and this week celebrates their accomplishments and highlights the importance of what alumni have done and what current members continue to do.

The theme for AmeriCorps Week 2013 is “Made in AmeriCorps.”  AmeriCorps provides its members with chances to improve not only their country, but themselves.  Members learn the value of helping others, have a chance to learn a variety of skills, and become leaders in their communities.

Here at Mile High Youth Corps, Corpsmembers will be celebrating AmeriCorps Week by doing several different service projects on Friday, March 15^th.  They will be displaying all the ways they were Made in AmeriCorps by cleaning up a neighborhood, serving at a food bank, and doing many other projects in the Denver area.

Our Corpsmembers are extraordinary young men and women and the future leaders of this country!

How are you Made in AmeriCorps?

Click here for more information about AmeriCorps week or to find out how you can serve in your community at MHYC or other AmeriCorps programs.

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Outcomes for 2012!

As 2012 comes to a close we would like to reflect on the amazing accomplishments of our Corpsmembers. All our Corpsmembers were eligible to receive AmeriCorps Education Awards upon completing their terms. The total amount earned by our Corpsmembers this year totaled $$253,36.. This is one of the many achievements of our Corpsmembers. See below for many more statistics that make up only a snapshot of the work that took place at Mile High Youth Corps in 2012.

• 6 miles of trail constructed in the Hayman burn area
• 13 miles of trail constructed and maintained
• 50 acres of noxious weeds removed/1,584 feet of fence constructed
• 11,722 trees cut down
• 85% of the project work completed will last more than 10 years
• 100% of enrolled summer AmeriCorps members earned their Education Award

The Following Statistics represent the work of our Second Term Water Crew.

• Homes serviced over 1,000
• Toilets installed 1,242
• Gallons of water saved annually 8.6 million gallons
• Olympic pool equivalent 13.4

Thanks to all of our Corpsmembers who made 2012 a year to remember!

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Hiring for 2013 Crews!

MHYC is currently hiring for crews that will begin this January.All Corpsmembers will experience a great team-based, leadership experience, receive a living stipend throughout the program, and be eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Education Award. There are two separate programs that we are accepting applications for until all positions are filled, so if you or someone you know is interested in this program follow the link below to complete your application. http://www.milehighyouthcorps.org/green-jobs/current-corpsmember-positions-available

The AmeriCorps Leadership and Conservation Crew gives ACLC’s to build leadership skills, work on a variety of land, energy, and water projects throughout the 11 month program. The ACLC’s will also have the opportunity to be peer leaders on the land crews throughout the summer and fall months.

The Energy and Water Program offers Corpsmembers the opportunity to build their “green” industry skills, work on small teams doing respective energy and water projects in affordable housing. For these 5-month programs there are also positions where Corpsmembers can additionally build their office experiences by working in our Bryant street location and working on the projects with their crews when needed.

Both of these Programs offer College and Career Readiness training, life skills training and an opportunity to become a part of an impactful agency at Mile High Youth Corps.

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2nd Annual Career Day

Last week, MHYC’s Leadership Council hosted our 2nd Annual Career Day!

Corpsmembers from across the agency had the chance to sit down with staff members in small groups to learn what makes MHYC run smoothly. Staff members from each department explained their roles within the organization and answered Corpsmembers’ questions about work experience and higher education. Corpsmembers also used the time to discuss their plans for life after MHYC.

Check out this quick slideshow below to get a peek into the inner workings of MHYC!

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YouthBuild Promotion

After a lengthy application process which included numerous interviews, an orientation, 3 weeks of Mental Toughness, and 1 week of training, we are excited to announce that we have promoted 36 new YouthBuild Corpsmembers! We are very proud of the hard work and commitment our new YouthBuild Corpsmsmbers have made over the past few weeks. We are also very excited to see all of our Corpsmembers make an impact around our community, grow their job skills, and work toward earning their GED or Diploma. Congratulations to all of our new YouthBuild Corpsmembers! Below are several pictures from Mental Toughness and Training week.

Meeting Denver City Councilman Paul D. Lopez

Working hard cleaning up our water systems.

Spending time the classroom.

Even more work in the classroom.

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Top Ten Sports to Watch in the Olympics

As the Summer Olympics came to a close in London we asked our Corpsmembers what were their favorite sports to watch. They even wanted to demonstrate their athletic skills in their favorite sports. Check out the Top Ten Sports to watch in the Olympics as reported by our Corpsmembers.

#10) Shotput

#9) Javelin

#8)Weightlifting

#7) Fencing

#6) Track

#5) Volleyball

#4) Diving

#3) Cycling

#2) Synchronized Diving

#1) Gymnastics

Thanks to all of our Mile High Youth Corps athletes for showing us their skills. Hope to see you in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio!

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What is your favorite thing about the MHYC uniform?

Our uniforms may get dirty, but they are what make us stand out in a crowd.

The uniform includes:
Cargo Pants
Hunter Green T-shirt with our logo
Boots (steel toed preferably)
On days like today, a hunter green sweatshirt

Staff and CMS alike all had positive things to say about the outfit that defines MHYC.

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Giving Thanks at MHYC

Hope everyone had a tremendous Thanksgiving break and got the opportunity to eat lots of food and rest! A tradition at MHYC is to have an organization wide potluck the day before Thanksgiving and this year we had a feast! CMs and staff piled turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, salad and desserts galore onto their plates and sat down for an early Turkey Day meal.

We asked CMs what they were most thankful for and here were some of their answers:
“Thankful for a job!”
“For paid vacations”
“For my Twitter Followers”
“I am thankful for my FRAMILY… my friends that have become my family”
Here were a couple of visual thanks:

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO BROUGHT A DELICIOUS TREAT TO OUR THANKSGIVING FEAST! Happy belated Thanksgiving

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Make A Difference Day: Denver

Make A Difference Day is held on the fourth Saturday in October every year and encourages the nation to come together for one day and participate in service projects that will directly affect their community in a positive manner. Projects were completed all over the country that truly made a difference in their community!

Mile High Youth Corps spent the day working on Fairview Elementary School, a school located in the neighborhood of several of our locations. Special thanks to the principal, Norma Giron for letting us work with her on such a special project! Listen to the speech she gave to the over 120 VOLUNTEERS!!!

The MHYC community joined with parents and students of the elementary school, Veronica Garcia, our friends from Ricoh-Ilkon and other community members to paint benches, clean up the playgrounds, plant trees, paint portions of the building and provide some overall maintenance to the garden. Thanks again for all you came to support!




We would like to thank all those who helped to make the day possible with their generous donations! Thanks from MHYC to John Alexander at Home Depot, Brigid McRaith for her art supplies, the Million Tree Initiative, Kim from Park People/Denver Digs, Cici’s pizza, Tagawa Gardens, Diane Wilson at Applewood Seed Co and Einstein’s Bagels for their delicious breakfast.

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Mechanics in the Shop

Right now, we are at the shop at Canosa beginning our training to prepare us for getting on the construction site. The mechanics have learned a lot over the last three weeks and we wanted to share our new skills with you!

Things we now know how to do:

• How to build a little house, complete with window, a door and a roof.
• How to read a tape measure.
• How to identify tools and use them.

• How to use a worm drive and circular saw.
• Use construction terms.
• Learned construction process by visiting Red Rocks.

Along with working and learning, we had a lot of fun playing games that had to do with construction and competition.

~Devon Martinez and Scottie Gomes, YouthBuild ‘12

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