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About US
The leaders of the PYC are the youth members themselves. We have a core group that is anxious to include others in the community. They have created a creed (on the home page) that all members of the group adhere to. We feel it is important that the group members have created their own set of guidelines that they can feel good about committing to. The group spends a significant amount of time planning fund
raising events. The money from these events either goes to a chosen charity, soup kitchen expenses or to pay their own expenses for the program.
The 8th+ grade members (ages 14 and up) begin junior leader training. The training starts at the beginning of the new school year with a winter camping survival experience in the Delaware National Forest in northern PA. The junior leaders explore who they are and what kind of leaders they want to become in the transition from group member to leader. They begin to lead challenges and run group activities. The junior leaders receive first aide certification and leadership skills throughout a 2 year process. They will become the future mentors/leaders of the group.
“It has been my pleasure to work with many of the Palisades Youth Crew students! They have stepped up and have been great role models for our younger students as camp counselors for our Summer Recreation Program. They are wonderful leaders who will undoubtedly be very successful in any endeavor they choose.” -Palisades School
Field Trips are a large enrichment aspect of the group. They are planned on the group’s interests and passions. We have gone to Hawk Mountain, snow tubing, swimming, plays, dog shows, basketball games, ice skating and more. Guest speakers will join our groups often to educate us on pertinent subjects or a topic of interest that is brought to the group by a member.
Our Group meets three times a month at the Springtown Rod and Gun Club. The older group (6th-12th grade) meets once a month on Sunday evenings from 5:00-8:00pm. The younger group (1st-5th grade) meets once a month on Friday evenings from 6-8:30pm. And one meeting a month is a whole group "in-house" meeting, where the younger and older group meet together. We sit in council and discuss topics that are brought to the table, make plans for field trips, community service projects and fund raising. The other meeting per month is "out of house" where we have field trips, challenges,and serve our community.
A Brief History
The initial spark behind this Youth Group came from a group of about 12 local families who met one evening and spoke of a desire to have a community center. A place where all of our children could come and express themselves outside the restrictions of a scholastic environment. We all wanted a placed where they could be enriched and supported for who they are as individuals. We wanted to see their strengths witnessed by the community and the opportunity to mentor their wisdom to others.Many obstacles stood in the way of this dream. Some of the most obvious ones being a lack of funding, space/land for a community center and opposition of change from the surrounding community and school board. One of the women that auspicious evening suggested that we just get started and see what happens… So through all the manipulations the dream has undergone we have arrived at a strong beginning, never loosing sight of the initial vision. The decision was made to just start the group!
Initially we were 18 children. We put together a wilderness camp to create the initial mentors to go forward for the group. The camp was a huge success and we were able to glean a tremendous amount from our youth in-between cliff jumping, ceremonies, games and challenges. The parents who attended the camp were unbelievable and were and will continue to be an invaluable resource for this group going forward.
Presently the youth group has joined with the Palisades Community Foundation (PCF), a non-profit organization that supports the palisades community. PYC members support PCF at various fundraising and community service events. PYC continues to grow and foster relationships that will last a lifetime!