Youth Enrichment Services

CONTACT:

412 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 267-5877
www.yeskids.org

Mary Williams, President

DESCRIPTION:

YES was founded in 1968 to introduce at-risk youth to outdoor challenges and opportunities, mainly skiing (and lately, snowboarding), but also camping, canoeing and the like. Since one-third of all juvenile crime occurs on weekdays after school and before parents come home, and urban school systems have a hard time providing sufficient after-school activities, constructive recreation is a very valuable community service to provide.

Through YES efforts, the outdoor recreation industry has supplied hundreds of thousands of dollars in lift tickets (at Butternut, Sunapee, Killington, Loon, Mt. Snow, Pico, Sugarloaf, and Waterville Valley), lessons, and equipment every year, to a cumulative total now of more than 125,000 Boston at-risk youth. YES works with over 100 community-based youth agencies to recruit skiers, and uses 200 volunteers annually to help them train and participate in the program. Ski trips are carefully prepared for in after-school sessions. The average participant enjoys two ski trips each year (in groups of seven with one chaperone and one ski instructor), and stays involved in the program for four years.

Since 2000, YES has grown in both size and stature. Their budget is up 64% to $643,000; they have increased the number of kids they serve by almost one-third; placed 20 teens at Massachusetts and Colorado resorts as instructors, lift operators, cashiers and rental shop staff; and launched a college scholarship program. YES has been recognized as a model program by the National Snowsports Industries of America and the National Ski Areas Association and has partnered with Winter Kids of Maine, Snowboard Outreach Society of Colorado, and the Snowsports Industries of America in Washington, D.C., to share resources and best practices.

(2000: HUMAN SERVICES: Children and Youth: General)