Youth Program | Rush Creek Lodge
Youth Program
Opening doors to independence & self-sufficiency for aspiring young adults
Teach, Challenge, Inspire
The Rush Creek staff includes a group of high-potential young adults who work as full-time paid seasonal interns. They leave the city and their normal lives behind and come to live and work in the mountains. Not only do they learn a specific trade, they live in a supportive community and enjoy outdoor experiences that challenge, motivate and inspire them as they plan for a successful life ahead.
YOUTH PROGRAM
Our Youth Development Program is foundational to our business. We actually acquired our sister property Evergreen Lodge after extensive efforts to determine the ideal business into which we could build a high-impact, fully integrated youth program.
Our program team includes numerous full-time staff who teach life skills and work one-on-one with our youth interns to help them both succeed during their time with us and plan next steps on their path to a self-sufficient, fulfilling life.
IMPACT
Since launching the Youth Program, we have served more than 600 interns at our 3 lodges. Our interns have collectively earned over $5 million and SAVED nearly $1 million during their time with us. These savings have provided important stability as interns transition to their next steps in life.
These videos offer heartfelt perspectives from Roy, one of our early interns, and Ashley, our 500th youth program graduate.
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
We started our fully self-funded Youth Program over 20 years ago, and we are proud to be a pioneering social purpose enterprise with both a business and a social mission.
Our work is more rewarding as a result of our Youth Program, and our guests can feel good knowing that, by staying with us, they are helping young people to gain experience and skills that they would not otherwise have access to and build momentum toward successful lives.
B CORPORATION
As a result of our balanced priorities, Rush Creek joins the Evergreen Lodge as a certified B Corporation. B Corps are a new form of company that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corps are designed for long term sustainability, putting the health of our communities, environment and staff on the same level as the health of the bottom line.
We are proud to be among thousands of B Corporations globally who are using business as a force for good. You are welcome to read the Rush Creek’s B Corporation profile here.
PROGRAM DESIGN
We believe supportive employment helps young people build momentum in their lives and realize their fullest potential, and that the outdoors, and places like Yosemite in particular, should be accessible to everyone.
Key elements of our program include full-time work & job skills training, life-changing outdoor recreation experiences, group & individualized social service support, living in a supportive community, and investor-funded matched savings grants.
HOW TO APPLY
For those 18-24 years old interested in applying for an internship, you can start your application here. We accept applications year-round and hire on a rolling basis.
