The VYCC’s Online Holiday Auction closed Sunday night and helped to raised $30,945 for education and conservation programs for Vermont youth.  The VYCC is also grateful for the strong and continued partnership with the Vermont Mountain Biking Association (VMBA).  As an auction partner, VMBA secured many of the auction items and will receive a portion of auction proceeds.

For the fourth consecutive year, Vermonters and friends from throughout the region found great deals on a variety of items that included ski passes, gift certificates at local restaurants, vacation rentals, and even hot air balloon rides.  We even had someone purchase skis…from Kansas!  The auction has now emerged as a reliable place to shop as well as a helpful source of Annual Fund revenue for VYCC programs.

We also want to offer a special thank you to the hundreds of businesses and individuals who donated auction items.  Without their support, the auction simply would not be possible.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Last, but certainly not least, we’re grateful for all those who bid on items.  Your consistent support of VYCC programs offers significant help at a time when Vermont youth have much to offer.

If you have any questions about the auction, feel free to contact Cailie Burns at 802.434.3969 ext. 113.

Visit our auction site and bid on fun and unique items – from outdoor gear and ski passes to orchestra tickets to vacation rentals in the Caribbean to gift certificates at local restaurants. THERE ARE GREAT DEALS TO BE HAD AT VERMONT’S BEST ONLINE AUCTION!!!

Businesses and friends throughout the state have donated goods and services. Proceeds from the auction help the VYCC provide more job opportunities for young people while completing conservation work on Vermont’s public land.

Want to donate an item? It’s not too late! For more information, contact Cailie Burns at 802.434.3969 ext. 113.

Last year the VYCC donated approximately 2,750 pounds of food to Vermont’s charitable food system. As the farm grows, so too will our donations to those in need.

To demonstrate our commitment, the VYCC has pledged to donate a total of ten tons of food by 2013! To learn more about the VYCC’s Farm and Food Program and Monitor Barns Farm, visit http://www.vycc.org/about/programs/farm-and-food/.

The funds will also be used to increase our ability to identify and design watershed projects in partnership with the state’s regional Watershed Coordinators and communities throughout the state. This year’s project sites include Allen Brook in Williston, the Lamoille River in Hardwick, and the Hinesburg Town Forest.

For more information on these watershed projects or on hiring a VYCC crew, contact Keegan Tierney at 802.434.3969 ext. 141 or Keegan.Tierney@vycc.org.

VYCC crews played a critical role in this partnership. In 2010, crews camped at the head of the Leicester Hollow Trail for eight weeks, and constructed new trail sections to replace the trails washed out by the flood of 2008. The trails built by the VYCC crews are reminiscent of Civilian Conservation Corps trail work still evident 75 years later in the GMNF and around the nation.

The trail work the crews completed was not only technical, but also physically exhausting. Imagine hiking three miles each way to and from your jobsite daily for eight weeks. Tired yet? Now picture the actual work you’ll be doing there: moving boulders weighing up to 1,000 pounds each with simple rock bars and then creating yards of one-inch cobble by hand. Exhausted? Well, with hard work, perseverance, and a whole lot of sweat and muscle, the VYCC crews did just that – they completed trail sections that leave even the most casual visitors in awe of their skills, dedication, and tenacity.

The VYCC is excited to be part of this project which will continue this summer, and we greatly appreciate the ongoing support provided by the GMNF and VMBA.

The Vermont Commons School, the Vermont Community Foundation, and the VYCC are partnering with Grab the Torch to develop, host, and promote this innovative and inspirational camp. Throughout the week, campers will meet with leaders from renowned national and Vermont-based companies and nonprofit organizations, including Google, Charity Navigator, Shelburne Farms, and the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

Do you know a young person who would be interested in this great camp? There are still open spaces as well as scholarships. For more information, visit the Grab the Torch website or email GrabTheTorch@vycc.org.

To achieve greater impact with their grantmaking dollars, the VWF conducted extensive research in 2010, including a statewide listening tour, to learn more about the barriers to economic well-being facing the women and girls of Vermont. As a result, the fund has launched a new multi-year grantmaking initiative targeting young women between the key transitional ages of 15 and 25 with the goal of building increased economic security for them once they become adults.

The VYCC will be joined by Vermont Works for Women and the Rutland Region Workforce Investment Board as Strategic Partner grantees for this new initiative, with each organization receiving $20,000 a year for up to three years. In addition, the VWF’s annual round of grants will be focused on this new body of work. To learn more about the findings from the VWF’s listening tour and their new grantmaking initiative, please visit their website.

If you know of a young woman who would contribute great things to a VYCC crew, please contact Eliza Kenigsberg at Eliza.Kenigsberg@vycc.org or 802.434.3969 ext. 130.