Greetings Friends!
We’re now almost 3/4 way through our current cohort, and things are moving right along. Warmer weather is starting - meaning lots of opportunities to be outside, and we haven’t wasted any of those opportunities. When possible, we’ve been conducting our classes outdoors - even conducting a Forklift Training right outside our building at our picnic area!
Ms. Thea and her famous good luck frog shoes!
Last week, Ten (10) members of NJYC Phillipsburg took the first of the 5 subtests that they need to pass to earn their high school diploma. We are happy to report that nine (9) passed! We received this report from our instructor Ms. Thea that she typed up waiting patiently outside the testing center at Morris County VoTech while wearing her stylish, good luck ‘frog shoes’:
“For over two decades I have been assisting and supporting hundreds of Youth Corps members on their journey to earn their high school diploma. Every three to four months, I assure anxious Corpsmembers that they are very capable of passing the exams required to earn their high school diploma and every three to four months I beam with pride when they do exactly what they and probably others, had doubted...they pass the test. Many people falsely think that taking the high school equivalency test is an easy way out, but no less is expected of HSE candidates than their traditional high school counterparts. The rigors of the exam often change to reflect current secondary education level expectations. Did you know that GED testing started as a service ONLY for veterans returning to civilian life after leaving high school to serve their country during WWII? In a 1946 study of 1500 veterans to 1500 non-veterans at the University of California in Los Angeles, it was determined that veterans performed better because of their maturity and stronger motivation. The very same could be said of our students, it’s their strong motivation to move toward a brighter future that pushes them to succeed; though some of my former students may tell you that it’s all in the lucky frog shoes!”
We look to have more good news to report soon, as CM’s will be testing more in the first full week of June. For now, they have a lot of motivation and encouragement from their first successes - wish ‘em luck!
CM’s with resident Bill Benz and Comeback Cafe’ owner Clayton Mitchell
On the Service Learning Project front - we’ve been busy as well. Keeping things looking ‘ship-shape’ was a theme. Corpsmembers spruced up the historic district along the S. Main Street corridor - trimming along sidewalks, pruning street trees, picking up litter, and planting flowers. It was incredibly gratifying in a way that our more remote service projects are not - we got waves, shout-outs of appreciation - and were able to interact with residents and business owners, informing them about the NJYC program, and networking in a really positive way. Corpsmembers planted a donated tree, learned about some employment opportunities from a local restaurant, and were treated to some ice cream at the end of the day.
click above to see the video!
Corpsmembers at the Oxford Furnace - with thier new friend.
images of Oxford Furnace
Corpsmembers also pitched in at Shippen Manor and the Oxford Furnace in Oxford, NJ. The furnace and adjacent property were in need of some TLC - we removed older damaged split rail fencing around the perimeter of the property, and removed other accumulated debris from the site. We even made a new friend with a milk snake the CM’s discovered!
at the Karen Nash Memorial Butterfly Garden.
We even got an afternoon of work in at the Karen Nash Memorial Butterfly Garden - working with Ms. Diana Dove, CM’s were able to clean out some planter beds to make room for new growth, and learned about native species of plants and the benefits they provide all pollinator species.
Speaking of pollinators - Thursday, May 20th, 2021 was #WorldBeeDay - and we made sure to make it out to the hive to thank our girls for all their hard work. In the news, we saw that Angelina Jolie decided to celebrate in a particularly interesting way. We love our bees, but have to tip our cap to Ms. Joile for her determination in making that kind of statement!
We got out to our hive this past week to check up on our hive and *knock wood* things were looking good. Corpsmember Will (seen below) while inspecting the hive even got to see the queen!
Lastly - yesterday was the final workday for our Transition Team member Kai Wilson. Kai began NJYC in November 2020. He completed Stage 1 of our program in March, obtaining his Diploma - and then continued our Stage 2 Transition Team, working on Service Projects and setting a good example for incoming Corpsmembers. Kai has secured work with a landscaping firm, and no doubt his NJYC experience will come in handy. Kai’s friendly disposition and positive attitude were infectious, and we will miss seeing him every day - but we are so proud of him for all he’s done since starting here 7 months ago! Best of luck, Kai!
Next week we will update you on our gardens - and hopefully, begin in starting to share the stories of our current CM’s - how they came to NJYC, what their experience has been like, and where they see themselves going. We think it will be interesting - our CM’s always have a lot to say!
Until then - ever forward-
Michael