By Ashley McLeod, Staff Writer
Jul 31, 2013, 15:10
CHESTERFIELD — For high school students, summer is usually a time to relax and have fun. But for some, it’s a time to work and give back to their community.
This is the case for 14 teenagers from Colonial Heights and Chesterfield, who have volunteered three weeks of their summer in order to help maintain and beautify Pocahontas State Park, located in Chesterfield.
The teens are participating in what is known as the Youth Service Corps program at the park. The Chesterfield Adolescent Reporting Program, and the Colonial Heights Office on Youth and Human Services team up each year with the Virginia State Park in order to hold this program for local teens.
“It gives them the chance to get out and work hard, as well as make some money,” said Tricia Quenan with the Colonial Heights Office on Youth.
Started in 2002, the YSC is based on an old program which was put in place under Franklin Roosevelt as a part of the New Deal during the Great Depression. The Civilian Conservation Corps was a work relief program for young men who could not find work.
“If your parents were unemployed, and your siblings did not work, then you could sign up for the program,” said Andrea Hasenfus, the volunteer coordinator for Pocahontas Park.
This program gave young men the opportunity to find work and relieve the pressure of finding a job during the Great Depression. It also was a way to provide a conservation program for the government to protect and preserve state parks nationwide. Under the CCC program, participants were paid $30 a month and were required to send $25 dollars of that amount back home to their families.
The Youth Services Corp Program has its participants doing several tasks similar to those done by participants in the CCC.
“What we try to do is get them to do stuff that beautifies the park, or we have them doing restoration-type work,” said Park Ranger David Yeager.
The 14 participants will spend three weeks around the park doing several jobs. One group worked on staining the wood of the old CCC building, which now serves as a museum. Another group is assembling picnic tables. Other jobs the youths will complete include laying new mulch, trimming tree branches, resetting campfire rings, and general cleanup of hiking trails.
While the YSC program is considered a volunteer program, after finishing the three weeks of work, the participants will receive $500.
“For me, it’s not about the money,” said Austin Rybkin, one of the volunteers in the program. “I just wanted to try something new, and it’s a good opportunity to meet good people and make new friends.”
For most of the teens, this program was a perfect opportunity to spend part of their summer doing something worthwhile for the community while helping keep the park beautiful.
“I come here a lot, and I’d to see it in top shape,” said Calvin Castleman, who volunteered in order to do something to help out the park. “Being able to come back in a couple years and see the things we did to help, and being able to say, ‘Hey, I did that’ will be a great feeling.”
While the main purpose of the YSC is to help with upkeep around the park, the participants are also treated to fun activities as well. The teens will practice archery, go swimming, go on a canoe trip, and there is also a planned trip to the Science Museum.
The YSC program not only helps the park, but also teaches the participants the value of hard work, and working together as a team. While there are adult volunteers around to help, the program allows the teens to work mainly with each other to complete projects, teaching them these important values.
“I’ve liked putting together the picnic tables the most, because you have to work together and you communicate with people and get to know them better,” Rybkin said.
The program is in its second week currently, ending next week with a graduation ceremony for the participants. There is also another program, the Youth Conservation Corp, for college-age volunteers, which does similar work around the state park.
