Staff RYAN BANKS
Program Director
Annual Report
PAUL BORONOW / ASHLEY ROSCOE
Assistant Conservation Corps Program Manager
SARAH BROCK / PETE KRASKA
2021
Operations Manager
LIZ HARTSTEIN
Internship Program Manager
LAUREN HEWITT
Accounting & Payroll Manager
CARLYN LAWATSCH
Youth Program Manager
MEGHAN LOURY / HANNAH CLUNE Assistant Youth Program Manager
CHRISSY LYNCH
Chief Financial Officer
ASHLEY ROSCOE / CHRISTINA ELDERKIN Conservation Corps Program Manager
GRETCHEN VAN DE CARR Chief Executive Officer
LAUREN VANDENHURK
Education & Evaluation Manager
KATE WARNKE
Development Associate
MARK WERTHEIMER
Chief Operating Officer
Board of Directors PAIGE BAKER President AVROM FEINBERG Vice President GREGORY HENION Treasurer PAUL SACHS Secretary ADAM ALSPACH MARGI BRIGGS-CASSON JENNY CAREY FRANK MAYER LORETTA MCELLHINEY DEB PROPER TIMOTHY REDMOND SHERRI SWEERS SCOTT WITHER
Advisory Board SUZANNE MUNN
Mission Rocky Mountain Youth Corps engages young people in the outdoors, inspiring them to use their strengths and potential to lead healthy, productive lives. We teach responsibility for self, community and environment through teamwork, service and experiential education.
Vision Rocky Mountain Youth Corps will be the leader in NW Colorado to provide diverse opportunities for young people to participate in outdoor based service and education for their growth, respect and responsibility to self, community and environment. We will do this through strong sustainable collaborations with project, program, and funding partners and the creation of a youth development center.
Dear Friends of Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, 2021 was an incredible year for us in many ways!
We met a new milestone in serving over 1,000 youth and young adults in one year! Our expanded Youth and Conservation Corps, Natural Resource Internship, and Yampa Valley Science School programs engaged a broader spectrum of youth and young adults, providing life and job skills to 1,017 in 2021. That brings our total to about 11,800 participants engaged over the past 29 years. Whew! Stories of success and overcoming challenges are shared throughout this report, along with financials, strategic planning, and recognition of our vast supporter base. Your passion and commitment help us to provide meaningful experiences that build confidence, resiliency, and independence in our participants as they work hard to preserve and enhance our public lands. We cannot adequately express our gratitude for our numerous project, program, and funding partners in helping us to rise to the challenge. We truly could not do it without you! With sincere appreciation, Gretchen Van De Carr Chief Executive Officer
Paige Baker Board President
Project & Program Partners RMYC values the many agencies that we partner with to fulfill our mission. We would not have success for our participants or the communities and environments we serve without our diverse and strong collaborative partnerships. AmeriCorps Bee Grateful Farm BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office BLM Kremmling Field Office BLM Little Snake Field Office BLM National Operations Center BLM White River Field Office Carpenter Ranch Nature Conservancy City of Rifle City of Steamboat Springs Cloud City Wheelers Colorado Department of Natural Resources Colorado Fourteeners Initiative Colorado Parks and Wildlife Colorado State Land Board Colorado Youth Corps Association Conservation Legacy CPW - Colorado State Forest State Park CPW - Little Hills State Wildlife Area CPW - Pearl Lake State Park CPW - Radium State Wildlife Area CPW - Rifle Falls State Park CPW - Stagecoach State Park CPW - Steamboat Lake State Park
CSU Routt County Extension Office Denver Water Eagle County Friends of the Dillon Ranger District Friends of the Yampa Friends of the Eagles Nest Wilderness Friends of Wilderness (Zirkel) Grand Lake Metropolitan Recreation District Headwaters Trail Alliance HistoriCorps Main Street Steamboat National Forest Foundation NPS - Dinosaur National Monument NPS - Rocky Mountain National Park One Track Mind Foundation Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts Camp Pitkin County Public Lands Service Corps Rio Blanco County Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers Roaring Fork Valley Horse Council Roundup Riders of the Rockies
Routt County Humane Society Routt County Riders Sonny Petrie State Land Board Summit County Summit Sky Ranch The Corps Network Town of Breckenridge Town of Eagle Town of Frisco Town of Oak Creek Town of Silverthorne Town of Winter Park USFS - Arapaho - Roosevelt NF USFS - Bridger-Teton NF USFS - Medicine Bow-Routt NF USFS - Pike-San Isabel NF USFS - White River NF Wildlands Restoration Volunteers Yampa River Botanic Park Yampa Valley Austism Program Yampa Valley Sustainability Council
Impact 28 M ILE S
98% of corpsmembers felt RMYC gave them important skills to obtain professional employment in the future
"The 24/7 group experience really taught me how to problem solve and brought me amazing friends who I had so much to learn from." Conservation Corps Member 87% of Yampa Valley Science School students reported that their experience made them more excited about school
O F E NC FE
ST N CO
13,148 TREES THINNED REMOVED FIRE MITIGATED
97.7% of Youth Corps participants believed that they were more confident in their ability to be a productive member of a team
RU CT ED
237 PROJE CT WEEKS
/R EM
OV ED
/R
EP AI RE D
INED INTA A M / 97 VED MIL MPRO I ES O / D E T F TRAILS CONSTRUC
4,872 SQ. FT OF ROCK MOVED / CLEARED COLLECTED 11,721 FT OF WATER DIVERSION STRUCTURES INSTALLED / IMPROVED MAINTAINED
$345,085 in AmeriCorps Education Awards
1,017 PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS
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TOTAL REVENUE $4,510,863
1st Annual Happy Trails Challenge raised over $38,000! Over 75 participants traveled over 3,200 miles hiking, biking, and running on trails coast to coast to support our programs. We would like to thank presenting sponsor Alpine Bank of Steamboat Springs and top sponsors, Gerber Berend Design Build, Steamboat Sotheby's International Realty, Native Excavating, Chaos Ink, Yampa Valley Bank, Fox Construction, Glas Deffryn Ranch, Big Agnes, Honey Stinger, and the many local businesses that helped make this new event a success.
Total Revenues do not include a $200,000 donation to RMYC's Endowment Fund
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $4,076,580
Revenues & Expenditures
Highlights YOUTH CORPS
294 youth ages 11-18 engaged in service and conservation projects across 10 counties in Northwest Colorado. Youth Corps education consists of lessons, activities, and reflection focused on job readiness, healthy life skills, environmental education, and civic responsibility. Residential camping offers opportunities for deeper engagement in social learning and to connect with partnering non-profit, government, and other agencies.
YAMPA VALLEY SCIENCE SCHOOL
YVSS is a hands-on, place-based, school-integrated earth science curriculum that sparks excitement for learning and provides a memorable experience for all Routt County sixth graders since 2000. The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to present challenges. However, we are excited that we were able to provide a science school program to all sixth graders over the past few years. 489 sixth graders gained a greater excitement for school while increasing their knowledge of the local ecology by 62% in 2021!
"My child very much enjoyed the experience and exclaimed daily that he wished every day of school were like this. He enjoyed the opportunity to learn outside in a beautiful environment." - YVSS Parent
Service Learning Crew (SLC) provides education about citizenship and self-development for Routt County 11-13 year olds. SLC engaged 109 youth in 2021. 128 Community Youth Crew (CYC) participants ages 14-15 were paid while gaining valuable skills for youth from Routt, Summit, Rio Blanco, Garfield, Lake, Eagle, Grand and Pitkin Counties. Camping throughout northwest Colorado, 57 Regional Youth Crew (RYC) participants ages 16-18 spent 2 weeks working on habitat restoration and trail projects. As a result of participation, youth corps members experienced increased resiliency, self-esteem, healthy life skills, and job readiness.
CORPSMEMBER OF THE YEAR
Hailey Archuleta
2021 was Hailey’s first exposure to the Corps world and the experience felt so good she returned for a second session in the same summer. Hailey’s life over the last few years has been unusual for someone her age. A few years ago her mother was diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease and Hailey has happily and lovingly provided support by caring for her mother and younger sister.
“He left for RMYC as a young male and came back as a worldly young man who learned to appreciate nature, hard work, and teamwork. He also had a huge appreciation for all that happens behind the scenes to make camping enjoyable for others through the week's projects. These lessons and skills will carry through for the rest of his life!” - Parent of CYC Participant
Through COVID, Hailey’s schooling transitioned online which was difficult, especially being from a particularly remote area of NW Colorado and living with strict COVID protocols due to her mom's elevated level of risk. Hailey’s leaders describe her as adding positivity and enthusiasm to the crew dynamic. Hailey has an intensely strong work ethic and leads by example and encouragement. Members and leaders alike appreciate her effort, attitude, and presence greatly!
CONSERVATION CORPS
RMYC hired 201 young adults in 2021 from 559 applicants! We engaged 166 crew members, 30 leaders, and 5 field coordinators. In addition to wages, 150 participants received $345,085 in AmeriCorps Education awards! Crew members demonstrated significant increases in resiliency, confidence, job skills, and healthy lifestyle choices.
TRAILS AND PRESERVATION
Trail Crews completed 20 weeks of work in Dinosaur National Monument doing fence and invasive species work to help with livestock grazing and wildlife protection and 21 weeks in Rocky Mountain National Park focusing on trail rehabilitation after the Cameron Peak Fire. Crews built buck and rail fencing, implemented erosion stabilization techniques, and maintained trail corridors. The Historic Preservation Crew spent 3 weeks in Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota working alongside HistoriCorps to restore the Hells Canyon log cabin.
BURN AREA REHABILITATION
In partnership with Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest, crews spent 32 weeks working in areas affected by the East Troublesome fire which burned nearly 200,000 acres in 2020, causing heavy damage to the Stillwater OHV and Grand Lake Trail systems. Crosscut and Chainsaw Crews removed fallen and hazardous trees and Trail Crews focused on stabilizing and reestablishing tread to re-open these trails to the public. Crews faced challenges such as extreme heat, lack of shade, and flooding. Despite the intense nature of working in a burn area, the projects prompted many educational conversations about wildfire, beetle kill, and climate action.
FIRE FIGHTING
The Fire Crew was deployed on two separate wildfires, the Black Mountain Fire which offered our crew a holistic view of a small wildfire from early stages to containment, and the Morgan Creek Fire. Crews were engaged in snagging operations, indirect handling construction, fire effects monitoring, mapping, and scouting. The incident command team provided ample opportunities for training and exposure to a wide variety of firefighting career paths.
DISASTER RELIEF
RMYC collaborated with the national AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team (ADRT) to send a Crew of 13 members to New York City to muck and gut single family homes affected by flooding caused by Hurricane Ida. Three of our members even served in high level roles as part of the mission’s Incident Command Team during the 5-week assignment.
”I have met so many incredible people this summer among leaders and members alike. I am inspired to seek out better company from now on to surround myself with experienced positive influencers.” - Conservation Corps Member
NATURAL RESOURCE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Our internship program is designed to engage young adults in valuable hands-on work experiences within natural resources public land management agencies and nonprofits. We hosted 60 interns in 15 locations across the state with 31 different host partners, doubling our numbers since 2020! Positions included Archaeology, Hydrology, Wilderness Characteristics Surveying, Forestry Technician, Wilderness Ranger and Trail Crews, Recreation & Interpretation, Sage Grouse Monitoring, Visitor Information Services, Vegetation and Soils Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM), Oil and Gas Monitoring, and Survey/Cadastral assignments in collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the United States Forest Service (USFS).
“I was able to spend time working with different people at the BLM. This position allowed me to see different career paths within the agency, and experience new things.” - AIM Intern
Supporters CHAINSAW
AmeriCorps Anschutz Family Foundation The Bluestem Fund City of Steamboat Springs Craig-Scheckman Family Foundation Colorado Youth Corps Association Daniels Fund John & Mary Ann Duffey Bill & Debbie Feiges Iron Horse Family Foundation The Jackson Family Charitable Fund
PULASKI Anonymous
Alpine Bank of Steamboat Springs Russ & Carol Atha Ross Bielak Borden Endowment Fund of the YVCF Business for Isness Foundation Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. The Benevity Community Impact Fund CO Alliance for Environmental Education
Suzanne Munn Myrtle L Atkinson Foundation Routt County Routt County United Way Tony & Emily Seaver Shadek Family Foundation Marilyn Staff State of Colorado - Office of Behavorial Health Steamboat Springs Education Fund US Forest Service Yampa Valley Community Foundation Wayne Swanson Charitable Fund Wearn Family Fund of the YVCF
Richard & Lori Grant Hawkridge Endowment Heart of Steamboat Foundation Jim & Susan Larson Lauinger Family Fund of the YVCF Susie Leeson Luck Family Foundation Ed & June MacArthur Bob Maddox
Robert J Dowling
McNeely Family Endowment
William & Judith Emerson Charitable Fund of the St. Louis Community Foundation
Krista Miller Mary Villiers Orr Trust
Fair & Square Construction, Inc.
RK Pet Ranch
Fox Construction, Inc.
Stu Roberts & Lulu Gould
Valerie Gates
Bill & Barbara Sanders
Glas Deffryn Ranch
Suzy Sayle
HARD HAT
Anonymous Ace Hardware Peggy Bass Berglund Ben Blair Central Park Management Community First Foundation Mark & Vanda Dyson Fred Emerich & Keren Meister-Emerich All Season's Landscaping, Inc. Brad & Ronda Fox Donna Garth Gerber Berend Design Build Daniel Grupper Heather Hack James Harris Susan Kerrigan Kroger
Hans & Susan Schell Ski Corps Employee Environmental Fund of the YVCF Jack Sprengle Steamboat Springs Rotary Club Endowment of the YVCF Steamboat Sticker Denny & Joy Swanson The Madden Family Fund Three Moon Fund of the YVCF Hazie Werner - Ewell D. Walker Endowment Craig & Kathleen Wasserman Schwab Charitable Fund Bob & Deane Weiss Abel Wurmnest YVCF Community Grants Fundraising Fund
Ryan Link Loretta McEllhiney Benjamin McLaughlin Carole Milligan & Jack Dysart Mtn Home Stove & Fireplace Native Excavating, Inc. Over the Hill Gang Precision Repair Tim Redmond Rick & Katie Riemenschneider Robison-Bouquet Fund of the YVCF James & Barb Ross Benjamin Sachs Steamboat Sotheby's International Realty Jeb Sturmer & Gretchen Van De Carr Brandt & Kelly Vanderbosch W.W. Grainger, Inc. Clark & Paula Wendling Yampa Valley Bank
Supporters TRAILBLAZER
Carol Baily Brad & Paige Baker Bryan & Karen Bomberg Margi Briggs-Casson Jake Rosser & Wendy Chan Barry & Robin Crossan Dave & Jacqueline Desposato Susan Dreska Erickson Financial Services Avrom Feinberg & Erica Gallagher Paul & Bridget Ferguson Greg & Kate Friedman Greg Henion Vivian Ho Brad & Kathy Hoefer Terry Huffington & Ralph Dittman Patricia Kulich Walter & Cristina Magill
GROUNDBREAKER Anonymous Wayne & Lisa Adamo Kathleen Alexander Adam & Pearson Alspach Melissa Arndt Teresa Audesirk Ayad Family Tom Baer Steve & Janet Banks Sarah Barstad Ben & Millie Beall Cam & Jill Boyd Jessica Brogan Sean & Jenny Carey Pat Carney Tara Chase Sally Claassen & Mark Darlington Ben Clark Sara Cobb Colorado Group Realty Martin & Pat Craighead Cindy Crain Norah & Stella Crofts John Culver
FRIENDS
Anonymous Amazon Smile Foundation Betsy Allen Adonna Allen Joe & Katie Armstrong Ann Baker Easley Tim & Elizabeth Baldwin Ryan & Caroline Banks Ben & Helen Beall William J Bedell Gordon Beesley Lawrence & Ursula Berkowitz Katie Berning Brent & Rebecca Bessey Joe & Lynne Bier Sue Birch Paul Boyle Douglas Bradfield Jacquelin Buratovich Jeff Burger Mary Burke Beau & Nancy Bush Jennifer Chase Dan & Patty Chovan Hannah Clark
Sheila Martin Robert & Sharon Mattison Ryan & Wendy Mayo Network for Good Lisa Nutkin Ken & Deb Proper Tom & Pam Ruehle Bill Schell Alpenglow Engineering Solutions Sloop Painting Paul & Arianthe Stettner Mike & Fran Stoltz Tredway, Henion, Palmquist, & Kusy, P.C. Wesley & Laura Trimble Carl Trimble Norbert & Melanie Turek Eric Uhlberg Robert & Carol Wertheimer Scott Wither
Ron & Sue Chen Davies Michael & Colleen de Jong Fred & Kristen Demicco Win & Elaine Dermody Chris & Eileen Diamond Camille DiTrani Joan Lazarus Dobkowski Karen Donoghue Dan & Cher Dooley The Drunken Onion Robert Ellsworth & Sarah Katherman Ron & Lisa Famiglietti Sarah Faulkner Paul & Barbara Feinberg Scott & Sherri Ford John & Kimberly Fox David Wallace & Betsy Frick David & Tara Gedeon Arc Welding Specialists Kendall Geer Scott & Jennifer Gibson Pascal & Deb Ginesta Larry & Maggie Glueck
Julie Hagenbuch Adam & Liz Hartstein Cole & Lauren Hewitt Britta Hiester Michael Holcomb & Marie Ford - Holcomb Mike & Barbara Hughes Judith Janec Jay Culver & Kristine Johnson Christian & Laura Karch Bart & Nancy Kounovsky Tom Krabacher Angie Krall Bob & Melrose Kuusinen Jeff & Sherri Leigh Dan & Kim Lemmer Jan Levy Randy & Lisa Lewis Kerry & Chrissy Lynch Kevin Marks Frank & Kim Mayer Lynn McCann Chad Moore Megan Moore-Kemp Morris Family David & Tresa Moulton
John & Shael Moyer Muir Family Niedermeier Family Victor Padilla & Laurene Maxwell Rob & Erin Perlman Charlie & Karen Pharris Chuck & Maria Porter Maurice & Barbara Quirk Janice Richter Gabriela Riegler Bud & Jane Romberg Fund of the YVCF Paul & Annie Sachs Dennis Savage & Julie Guda Thomas Schlicht Tom & Lesley Schuldt Rob & Betsy Schwartz Ben & Adrienne Mooney Stroock George & Jenny Tempest Kathleen Titus Margaret Treadwell David & Shannon Tridle Samuel Trimble Kaitlin Vacca Peter & Gretchen Van De Carr
Kelly & Susan Colfer Ron & Kerry Contarino Justin Davies Mary Davies Trish Donahue Annie Dore Steve & Pinky Downs Steve & Melissa Dressen Patrick & Mary Duddy Gary Engel Raul Escutia Susan Estes Traver Farmer Phaedra Fegley Richard Filer Mark Fischer Caroline Fisher Flanigan Family Linda Foss Laura Foulk Andreas Foulk Ralph & Abbe Gahtan Gioia Family Karen Goubleman Kezia Graham Samuel & Sarah Grayson
Elissa Greene Michael Guerrero Joe Haines Nick Hamar Joelle Hamm Liz Hammer Karla Harding Megan Haubelt Tatum Heath Emily Hines Jane Howell Megan Hund Jacob Jarvis Frani Jenkins Rahul Kamalapurkar Katie Keller Sheryl Kelley Steve Knopp Cynthia Koenck Kopischke Family Hedda Kukla Claire Lang Tommy Larson Kyleigh Lawler Valerie Lawton Jimmy & Lisa Lorenz
Manic Training Dean & Karen Massey Megan McDonnell McDowell Family Meissner Associates Callum Becvarik Marta Miskolczy Lois Mitchell Peter Morelli Elizabeth Diamond Nelly Navarro Georgianne Nelson Kate Nowak Kelsey Olsen Jordan & Emily Osterman Mary Alice Page-Allen Heather Park Lauren Penner Mike & Michelle Petix Andrew & Janice Poirot Tyler Ray Sara Redmond Megan Richard Maureen Riley Jacob Rotmensch Nadine Foster
Ian & Karlyn Wagner Mona Warren Carrie Warren-Gully Jim & Susannah Webster Sue Weir Mark Wertheimer & Kim Brooks Libby Wile Lochen Wood Bo Yennie Len Zanni & Jeanne Mackowski
Norman & Sylvia Rowe Jess Ryan Carl Sangree Donald & Kathy Savory Daniel Schaffrick Robin Schepper Marissa Schmoecker Sara Sedlmeier James & Amanda Shingles Brian & Annie Simmons Becky Slamal Wendy Smith Mikelsons Steamboat Roofing Company Sheri Steiner Nathan & Michelle Stewart Stoller Family Tait Family Tegtmeyer Family The Center for Sports Medicine Marian Tolles Steph Traylor Kay Van Ness Skip & Kate Warnke Brock Webster & Keri Searls Nancy White Lance Whitner Wade Wykert
991 Captain Jack Drive Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
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STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-2025
WWW.ROCKYMOUNTAINYOUTHCORPS.ORG
RMYC board and staff members worked with the Colorado Institute for Excellence to compose a five-year Strategic Plan. Here are the summaries of the four Strategic Initiatives (led by the board) and three Improvement Projects (led by the staff).
STRATEGIC INITIATIVE #1 CLARIFY VISION, PURPOSE AND CORE VALUES
A clear purpose and vision are essential to unify, inspire, and engage stakeholders and provide a focal point for goal-setting and planning. Core values strengthen the organization’s culture, improves team dynamics, and creates belonging and commitment.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVE #2 REFINE THE SUCCESSION PLAN
Understanding and planning for changes in staff are essential to our long-term strategic success, whether planned or unforeseen.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVE #3 STRENGTHEN LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY
In our goal to become more financially sustainable, we will build our planned giving and endowment funds to secure long-term sustainability.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVE #4 ENHANCE DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION Build an organizational culture that integrates diversity, equity, and inclusion into everyday operations through enhanced diversity of our staff, board members, and participants; equity by identifying and reducing barriers to participation; and enhanced sense of belonging of staff, participants, and partners from all walks of life through inclusionary efforts.
IMPROVEMENT PROJECT #1 MAJOR OPERATIONAL & PROGRAM PROCESSES • Decision making and chain of command • Recruitment, placement, and onboarding of seasonal staff and participants • Field technology assessment and equipment management
IMPROVEMENT PROJECT #2 MAJOR ORGANIZATIONAL & ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES • Database implementation to improve payroll processes, agreement management, and partner relations • Board, staff, and stakeholder communications
IMPROVEMENT PROJECT #3 SENIOR STAFF EXCELLENCE PLAN • Staffing roles and workloads • Onboarding, training & professional development • Performance evaluation & compensation • Attrition & retention analysis • Team unification