Youth Program
The Evergreen's staff includes a group of high-potential young adults from urban backgrounds who work as paid seasonal interns. They leave the city and their normal lives behind and come to live and work in the mountains. Not only do they learn a specific trade, they are also able to live in a supportive community and enjoy outdoor experiences that challenge, motivate and inspire them.
Our commitment to our youth program stems from two central beliefs:
Supportive employment can help young people build momentum in their lives and realize their fullest potential
The outdoors in general, and places like Yosemite in particular, should be accessible to everyone
Our Youth Program is central to what we do at the Evergreen, and we are proud to have a "double-bottom line" enterprise with both a business and a social mission. Our work is more rewarding as a result of our Youth Program, and our guests can feel good knowing that, by staying with us, they are helping young people to gain experience that they would not otherwise have access to.
For potential youth interns and others who may be interested, this video provides more information about our program:
In designing and running our program, we've partnered with Juma Ventures, an award-winning San Francisco Bay Area non-profit organization. Juma is a nationwide leader in combining employment and programmatic support to help young people. Juma provides invaluable expertise in helping us to deliver the highest impact program possible.
We are also supported by Pacific Community Ventures, an organization whose goal is to develop and invest in businesses that provide economic gains to low-income communities in California.
As a result of our social mission, the Evergreen was certified as a founding B Corporation, a set of companies that "use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems". Click here to read the Evergreen's B Corporation profile.
