VYCC’s Approach to Service

• Service is central to the VYCC mission: to take action and build community by working and learning together with the land.

In 2022, Members completed 73,881 hours of service.

VERMONTERS, AND NEW VERMONTERS:

• Service means TAKING ACTION now. The impact of our relationships, work, and learning endure over time.

• Service BUILDS COMMUNITY and brings people together. Paid service ensures access and invites everyone to be active community members.

• Service creates opportunities for young people who want to WORK AND LEARN WITH THE LAND. Every person benefits by contributing to something larger than themselves.

We seek to help all participants build authentic relationships with people and place, so they choose to stay or someday return to Vermont. These individuals are pursuing the next part of their professional journey here in Vermont: Ash McGrann was a Leader with the Food & Farm Program in 2022. She is now at Northern Vermont University studying environmental science with a focus on ornithology - she is interested in bird migration patterns and how they correlate with the weather. “I definitely wouldn’t be going to college in Vermont without the credits and help from VYCC.” Ash aspired to go to college, and had no idea how she’d get there. Raised on a farm in Kentucky, Ash traveled the country working for other conservation corps after high school. “I was living in tents and moving weekly. Coming to the farm was like coming back to my childhood. I got to live in the farmhouse and sleep in the same bed every night. That had a huge impact on me.”

Pat Kantner spent a few seasons working at ski resorts after moving to Vermont. Looking for a change, they joined a VYCC pro crew, and discovered an interest in carpentry. Pat is now working for a contractor in central Vermont. “My time with the Pro Build crew gave me a clearer picture of what kind of career path I want to follow. My carpentry experience at VYCC led to what I am doing now. It was like taking two semesters of school in carpentry. The emphasis on learning meant that I could get a feel for every part of the building process and enter the workforce as a not-so-green carpenter. I am using what I learned with the Pro Build crew every day. I don’t think I would have ended up in this field, or have found out how much I like it, if it wasn’t for my time with VYCC.”

Tiffany Marquez was a Leader with the Food and Farm Program in 2021. She had just relocated to Vermont from California and was pursuing a career change. “VYCC was an entryway for me to have a consistent job in Vermont – I needed a job. It was also a chance to learn about my new east coast community and feel grounded. I moved to Waitsfield from Los Angeles City in a state of cultural shock and curiosity. I had never imagined working on a farm, let alone leading a crew, but VYCC was able to see my potential and push me in all the right ways. I found myself in this perfect playground to explore myself, and seasons, and share that experience with others.“ After VYCC, Tiffany completed programs with Vermont Works for Women and ReSource. She is now working full time for a construction company in Vermont.