Youth Program

Opening doors for promising Northern California youth seeking job and life skills

Inspire, Challenge, Teach

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 offers heartfelt perspective from one of our graduates.

MORE ABOUT THE YOUTH PROGRAM

Since launching the Youth Program in 2005, along with the addition of sister property Rush Creek Lodge in 2016:

We have served more than 500 Youth Interns

They have collectively earned more than 3 million dollars from their internships with us

They have collectively SAVED over half a million dollars in personal savings as a result of their internships

Job skills training includes 16-week paid internships in the areas of Retail, Food & Beverage, Recreation, Housekeeping, Maintenance or Front Desk

We maintain a full-time social service staff on-site to provide best possible training, support and life-changing outdoor experiences

Indeed, pictures are worth a thousand words, so here’s a collection of some more of our favorites: Youth Program Photo Album.

You can also learn more from some terrific articles written in the New York Times and Fortune Small Business.

HOW TO APPLY

For those interested in applying for an internship, you can start your application here.

JUMA VENTURES

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.

B CORPORATION STATUS

As a result of our social mission, the Evergreen was certified as a founding B Corporation in 2007, and is now proud to be among thousands of B Corporations globally who are using business as a force for good.

You are welcome to read the Evergreen’s B Corporation profile here.