Rocky Mountain Youth Corps
Founded in 1995, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (RMYC) provides paid community service opportunities to youth in central and northern New Mexico ages 17 to 25. Corpsmembers receive life-skills training, professional certifications, and academic scholarship while working on a variety of conservation and prevention programs. RMYC provides the resources they need to find a pathway to a healthy and productive life.
Since inception, we have engaged over 3,000 Members with 1,577,350 hours of service, $4 million in education scholarships, and $13 million in take home pay.
Historically, young women have faced barriers in conservation. Women hold a mere 38% of positions in environmental sciences. The inception of the "Fems & Thems'' Crew within the LGBTQ+ framework at RMYC empowers cisgender women and LGBTQ+ individuals to actively embrace conservation careers. This experience can be both life-changing and life SAVING. This forward-thinking endeavor constructs a nurturing environment for growth, while also enriching the diversity within the RMYC Conservation model.
With Envision Fund support through the Santa Fe Community Foundation, the program has:
- Updated orientation materials to include expanded gender & pronoun options
- Expanded training related to LGBTQIA+ topics
- Partnered with the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico to deliver Trans 101 & 202 educational classes for corpsmembers & staff
- Provided Gender Variance training breaking down gender, identity, expression & pronouns that fall outside of culturally defined norms
- Partnered with Communities Against Violence providing Violence Prevention & JEDI training
- Updated RMYC Harassment Prevention training to include language related to various forms of harassment related to LGBTQIA+ workers
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The Santa Fe Community Foundation invited local nonprofits to submit stories related to our June topic of LGBTQ+ Pride
New Mexico Acequia Association
Youth education and outreach are central to the work of the New Mexico Acequia Association. Through these programs, young people engage with their local acequias and build the skills to become future community leaders.
River Source
River Source supports people advancing watershed stewardship to create significant community engagement and long-lasting impacts for intergenerational learning and ecological restoration. We provide science and policy education and the building of watershed and climate resilience in New Mexico. Our goal is to be weavers, bringing together elders, youth, and land managers to spark action for caring for our water, forests, and land and leveraging the full potential of people working together.
The Art of Generosity: Bienvenidos Outreach
The Art of Generosity — our new editorial series with Table Magazine — shines light on the people and organizations strengthening communities across New Mexico. In this first story, we meet Susan Tarver of Bienvenidos Outreach, whose work reflects how compassion, connection, and everyday acts of generosity can help neighbors meet basic needs and build lasting support systems.
