Frequently Asked Questions
How does Mile High Youth Corps – Colorado Springs (MHYC-CS) recruit youth participants?
MHYC-CS recruits young adults ages 18- to 24 years old from a number of different sources including schools, community groups, job fairs, online, at religious institutions and through other youth serving organizations. All Corpsmembers come from the local communities we serve.
Is there an income or “at-risk” eligibility requirement for youth participants?
No! The only eligibility requirement involves age. We hire young people between the ages of 18- to 24 years old. We are an equal opportunity employer.
What kinds of projects does Mile High Youth Corps – Colorado Springs perform?
MHYC-CS’s primary focus is conservation projects. Summer crews do land conservation projects: trail construction and maintenance; fence construction and disassembly; habitat restoration; stream bed repair; dry stone masonry; noxious weed mitigation; sawyer work involving noxious tree removal, beetle bark tree removal and fire fuel mitigation; and, many other projects. All sawyer Corpsmembers are 18-years-old or over and are trained to operate chain saws. Many of our crews camp near the work site to reduce travel time and maximize project work time. Camping crew Corpsmembers are 18-years-old or over as well. We also have a day crew that deploys from and returns to our office daily.
Are participants volunteering?
No. Youth corps participants, called Corpsmembers, are paid for their work at minimum wage or higher and may also be eligible for AmeriCorps education awards depending on their term of service. Corpsmembers who are age 18 and over and who perform 300 hours in a season may earn a $1,000 AmeriCorps Education Award, and those who perform 450 hours earn a $1,250 award.
How do youth corps differ from other environmentally-based youth programs?
MHYC – CS uses a paid employment experience, through environmental and conservation-based projects to provide a structured environment where young adults gain on-the-job skills, self-discipline and leadership skills. Each youth corps program allocates between 10%-20% of their time to education including environmental education, Job Readiness Training and life-skills development.
