To Our Community
Our garden beds are tucked in for the winter, as are many of us, but we remain busy planning for next season - one of sunshine, camaraderie, and opportunity!
For River City Youth Ops, 2020 has been a year for building and nurturing the partnerships that will directly impact the youth that we serve. We are excited to begin a new partnership with YouthBuild Spokane, who will be offering our 16 and older program participants an AmeriCorps education award in addition to our standard RCYO stipend, which can be used for a variety of learning experiences. We are also broadening our involvement with the West Central Episcopal Mission, who has rebranded as the West Central Abbey and is building a council of local partners who will work together to collectively improve the lives of those in West Central. As part of this community, we will provide produce for the Abbey's Wednesday Night Dinner Table, as well as the Catholic Charities’ Food For All program. We will also work with the Herbalist Guild and the Hutton Settlement to expand our knowledge on medicinal and practical uses of plants and to implement permaculture practices. We believe that meaning is found in relationship and are eager to continue building ours within the community.
While the pandemic has offered important lessons and meaningful connections, we cannot overlook the challenges and heartache that it has also surfaced. This year has been especially impactful on our youth, who have lost valuable time interacting with peers and sharing in many of the experiences that are meant to educate and empower them. Despite these challenges, however, so many of them continue to model resilience, finding new and creative ways to learn, to grow, and to keep moving forward.
It is in this spirit that we build our curriculum for next season, focusing on connecting youth to jobs skills, their food, their community, and their future. With your help, we would like to give every youth participant the opportunity to:
Build and enhance their resume
Earn their Washington State Food Worker Card
Obtain a CPR + First Aid certification
Explore a variety of job opportunities and career pathways by engaging with local business owners and entrepreneurs
Your donation will help us fund our programming, buy seeds, plant ideas, and grow youth that give back to their community. It is not only in advance of Giving Tuesday, but of a hopeful 2021 season that we humbly and graciously ask for your support.
All the best to you and yours,
Adam Gebauer
Board President, River City Youth Ops
