LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

5 LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

While 2019 marked a year of incredible growth for Yestermorrow; 2020 tested the fortitude and commitment of our staff, instructors, students and donors, just as the world was tested.

Faced with a global pandemic, we navigated our 40th Anniversary with the inventiveness instilled in us by our four decades-long mission, which emphasizes hands-on learning, ingenuity, integration and interaction.

Hands-on education became challenging as the world came to a halt in March, one week after the arrival of our Interns.

Little did we know how important, and open to interpretation the “interactive” portion of the Yestermorrow mission statement would be.

Despite being closed for three months, campus was buzzing by late summer with in-state students and those who had quarantined..

In August, we welcomed our Yestermorrow/UMASS Semester in Design/Build students to campus for the 10th year of this partnership program. Following Vermont Governor Scott’s guidelines for quarantine and physical and social distancing, our students, instructors and staff made a commitment to design/build education, allowing us to provide a safe space for hands-on education.

Their project, an 840-squarefoot modular studio and living space, will hopefully provide a prototype for sustainable, affordable housing options in the Mad River Valley.

Speaking of the Valley, we welcomed the return of a local icon to campus at the end of the year thanks to a Community Challenge Grant from the AARP. The Snail was completed in 2002 by our Community Design/Build class and served as an East Warren School bus stop until recently. Thanks to the AARP’s support, we relocated the unique structure to our Waitsfield campus on scenic Route 100 and it was revitalized and refurbished as we prepared it for use as a stop on the Mad Bus route.

The generosity of the Yestermorrow community was on full display in 2020. With the help of our donors and supporters, we continued construction on our Dorm Bunkhouse Project, established a BIPOC Scholarship Fund, and further developed our programs.

The donation of a CNC Machine and contributions from software maker AutoDesk will inspire expanded technology-based programming while our new online curriculum coordinator, Lina Menard, will help evolve our offerings and breathe new life and meaning into the “interactive process” outlined in our mission.

We begin the new fiscal year inspired by the commitment of our donors, instructors, students and staff and, while online classes are another tool in our tool box, we’re excited to continue the hands-on (well sanitized, of course) experiences we’ve built over the past 40 years.

Despite the roadblocks thrown our way by Covid-19, we finished the year feeling fortunate for the support and generosity of the Yestermorrow community. You all have helped us immensely in the past year. We head into our 41st year with a clearer vision of Yestermorrow’s future.

We hope you will continue to join us on our journey.

IN-PERSON CLASSES

Campus is alive thanks to a commitment to safety by our students, instructors and staff.

6