RMYC Mission Statement
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps recognizes and engages the strengths and potential of youth through team service in the schools, the communities, and the landscapes of northern New Mexico. RMYC is a stepping stone to new opportunities.
History of Rocky Mountain Youth Corps
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (RMYC) was created in 1995 to revitalize community, preserve and restore the environment, prepare young people for responsible and productive lives, and build civic spirit through service. Modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930’s, RMYC provides creative approaches to problems stemming from poverty, youth substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and violence. RMYC works with youth from various backgrounds, providing a strategy for young adults to better their communities and their own lives. With this in mind, we not only work to restore trails, watersheds, and fire safety corridors, we also use these activities as the means to positive youth development.
RMYC has hired more than 1,800 Taos youth, between the ages of 16-25, providing them with employment readiness programs, violence and substance abuse prevention education, GED attainment, and continuing educational scholarships. These youth have completed over 200,000 hours of meaningful community service that have benefited hundreds of school children, low-income families, elderly citizens, local government and non-profit agencies, and users of public land in Taos. RMYC members become heroes and heroines in the community, transforming negative images of youth into success stories about youth making a difference. By providing a safe, structured environment for learning that promotes citizenship, RMYC builds stronger communities in northern New Mexico.
Currently, RMYC has four main programs established in our organization to serve the youth of northern New Mexico.
The After School Program employs 40 Corps members and serves 150 K-5th grade students in Taos County. The program places emphasis on the development of positive mentor relationships and experiential learning. Crew Supervisors support Corps members in emphasizing positive play and peer mediation.
The Community Leadership program works to develop, teach, and mobilize Taos County high school youth to address their peers and community members in changing social norms around drinking and driving and encourage socially responsible decision-making.
RMYC also employs 14 full-time crew members dedicated to 10 months of service and 24 full-time crew members dedicated to summer service through our Field Program. The Field Program provides community beautification, preservation, and environmental enhancements projects to the community. The Corps members learn about natural resource management and conscientious respect for the environment.
The RMYC Learning Lab is the newest program within our organization. The Learning Lab provides temporary, safe, supportive, and academic continuation services for youth ages 12-16 that have been suspended, expelled, formally withdrawn from school, or referred by the Juvenile Justice System. |
