The Greenwich Youth Conservation Program (GYCP) toiled for two hours on Thursday, July 16, cleaning up Glenville Green, located at 248 Glenville Road between the Western Greenwich Civic Center and the Glenville Firehouse.
Now in its 37th year, the GYCP – coordinated through the Greenwich Department of Social Services and funded through private donations – has provided kids ages 14 and 15 an alternative to the summer time-sinks of video games and television.
GYCP girls removing tree from walking path.
GYCP Revitalizing Glenville River.
GYCP provides a unique “first job” experience to 112 Greenwich adolescents this summer. Participating teens are partaking in two-week work sessions, which are spent planting gardens and trees, removing invasive vegetation, and helping improve Greenwich parks and town properties, learning teamwork and practical employment skills along the way.
Personnel from the Greenwich Departments of Social Services and Parks and Recreation supervise and administer the program. Sponsors and private donors make it possible for each teen to receive a “first paycheck” for their work. The teens also receive job and life skill training daily from guest speakers.
The Resource Foundation provides major funding for the GYCP. Other sponsors include Fire House Deli, Garden Catering and Whole Foods of Greenwich. There are also many private donors. This “earn and learn” summer job opportunity is highly sought after by many local teens.
Program Director Christina Nappi, Department of Social Services, explains, “Our program is so desirable because teens want to make a valuable contribution to their town and learn skills that will serve them well into the future. The teens immediately see the results of their teamwork and take great pride in what they’re able to accomplish.”
The GYCP is a non-profit public/private partnership among the Greenwich Department of Social Services and Parks and Recreation, Greenwich Green & Clean, and private donors, all committed to developing the potential of young Greenwich teens.
Selectmen John Toner, Frank Smurlo (GYCP Board Member), Barbara Nolan (DSS Board Chair), Lauren Rabin (DSS board member), Kimberly Terrenoire (GYCP Board Chair), Monica Bruning (DSS Director of Programs), Mary Hull (Director of Greenwich Green and Clean and GYCP Board Member), Carol McGreevey (GYCP Board member).
For more information, contact Christina Nappi, Program Director, at (203) 622-7792 or Christina.Nappi@GreenwichCT.org
Email news tips to Greenwich Free Press editor Leslie.Yager@GreenwichFreePress.com
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