YOUTHWORK IS GETTING THINGS DONE IN MICHIGAN!
YouthWork is proud to partner with young adults and community organizations from around the state to complete environmental and conservation projects for our local communities. We all benefit from YouthWork in many ways:
Our youth members learn important job and life skills, complete incredible, visible, and lasting projects in their home communities, and build lifelong relationships with other members and YouthWork staff.
As AmeriCorps members, our youth have the opportunity to earn living stipends and education awards if they are successful in YouthWork Conservation Corps!
Our communities receive quality services and save limited resources when YouthWork members complete local service projects for non-profit and public partners.
Our businesses benefit from a better prepared and skilled community of employees - employees that our economy needs to thrive.
Our people (that's YOU!) enjoy new and improved trails and boardwalks, cleaner rivers, lakes, and shorelines, and thousands of newly planted trees and native plants.
We all win!
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
Ben Dietrich,
White Pine Trail State Park
A huge thank you to the crew that was out this fall for all their hard work. The staff here were very impressed by the work ethic demonstrated by both crews and we have nothing but great things to say about Erin, who was a fantastic leader.
Emily Douglas,
Kehl Lake Natural Area
Kehl Lake is such a special place, with wonderful habitat, and people really don't want to skip this part of the trail. I love that in the process of building this new boardwalk, young adults are building their skills which can be life changing.
So happy! We are so happy! [The crew] was awesome, they did quality work and were very professional and hardworking.
The crew worked hard and were a lot of fun to work with. Great group of kids!
He would come home and
talk about he things he and "the crew" had accomplished that day. He began to express a higher level of empathy for other crew members who also had disabilities and/or were learning entirely new skills - personal, interpersonal, and professional. He also began showing some true leadership by not just doing things for others but showing and explaining to them the how's and why's of the work. And his pride in the program shows through when he tells others who he is working for and what the crews are accomplishing.
Kasey Mahony,
Leelanau State Park
Susan and Becky,
parents of YouthWork member
Reb Ratliff,
Grand Traverse Conservation District
"STONE SOUP"
YouthWork utilizes a "no project without a partner" mantra. As a program model, we engage our partners by referencing the classic children's story, "Stone Soup." YouthWork brings the pot and many of the ingredients to complete a project, making the soup. We look to our partners to identify what "ingredient" they can place in the pot to ensure the project's success and to make it meaningful for our members, the environment, and our local communities!
Just a few of our partners...
Corporation for National and Community Service - Michigan Community Services Commission - Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy - Grass River Natural Area - Inland Seas -The Children's Discovery Center - Oryana Natural Foods Co-Op - Michigan Department of Natural Resources - Conservation Resource Alliance - Benzie Area Christian Neighbors - Grow Benzie Food Rescue - Goodwill - Little Traverse Bay Conservancy – Michigan Rehabilitation Services – Michigan Works! - Watershed Center Grand Traverse Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians - Natural Resources Department - Reining Liberty Ranch - Peace Ranch - The Optimist Club - Rotary Clubs – Petoskey Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation - Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Newaygo, Lake, Wexford, and Leelanau County Conservation Districts - Bay Area Recycling for Charities - National Park Service - US Forest Service – The Corps Network
Emmet County Parks and Recreation - Little Traverse Conservancy - Friends of the Jordan River
Camp Petosega - Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
