Recently, there has been a lot of discussion in the media about youth giving back to their communities by committing to a year of community service, typically after high school or during college. Mile High Youth Corps (MHYC) has been helping young people #ServeAYear, a semester or summer since 1992.
In the past 23 years, more than 1,600 youth have served in neighborhoods, public parks, open spaces and on construction sites throughout Metro Denver and the Southern Front Range of Colorado. Mile High Youth Corps integrates paid work experience on community service projects with leadership development, career readiness and education.
MHYC offers youth the opportunity to serve in several areas. Programs include:
• Energy & Water Conservation: Corpsmembers conduct energy audits in low-income housing and nonprofit facilities. Once the audits are complete, Corpsmembers educate clients on conservation, and install water and energy-efficiency measures, including compact fluorescent light bulbs, aerators, shower heads, programmable thermostats and high-efficiency toilets.
• Land Conservation: Rooted in the tradition of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s, youth work on a variety of projects that include trail building and maintenance, fire and flood mitigation, habitat restoration and the removal of invasive plant species. The land conservation work of MHYC Corpsmembers impacts hundreds of acres of national parks, public trails and community spaces in Colorado each year.
• AmeriCorps Leadership & Conservation (ACLC): This intensive leadership program provides youth with the opportunity to serve in three conservation areas: water, energy and land. In the spring and fall, Corpsmembers participate in the Energy & Water program, installing resource saving measures in low-income homes and nonprofit facilities. In the summer, they serve in the Land Conservation program as assistant crew leaders. Additionally, Corpsmembers plan and lead projects, facilitate education and team-building activities, and engage in community outreach.
• YouthBuild: YouthBuild is a comprehensive job-training, education and leadership development program that engages out-of-school and unemployed young adults. These Corpsmembers spend half their time on a large-scale, Denver Housing Authority construction site learning job skills and building low-income housing units, with the remaining time spent in the classroom working toward earning a high school diploma. YouthBuild is a partner of RiseUp Community School, opening Aug. 10, 2015 in the headquarters at 1801 Federal Blvd.
To find out more about Mile High Youth Corps, visit www.milehighyouthcorps.org, call (303) 433-1206 or follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
