YES and the Charles River Conservancy Team Up for Teens

Youth Enrichment Services (YES) recently entered into an exciting new partnership with the Charles River Conservancy (CRC).  The two organizations are teaming up to bring teens a new service learning opportunity in the outdoors. This multi-week program is being piloted this fall. YES teens will participate in weekly outdoor landscaping and maintenance projects in the parklands along the Charles River. Teens will also learn about ecological conservation and the history of Boston’s most famous river.  At the conclusion of the program, participating teens will receive a new skateboard at the CRC’s Lynch Family Skate Park grand opening celebration. Date is to be determined.

“Everyone at YES is thrilled to team up with the Charles River Conservancy to bring this new opportunity to our young people,” says Bryan Van Dorpe, YES Executive Director. “The program is unique in so many ways and provides teens the experience of giving back and connecting with others who share their passion for the sport of skateboarding.”

The Lynch Family Skate Park is being developed by the CRC at North Point Park in Cambridge, MA.  The park is touted to be the first true skateboard park for Boston area youth.  CRC Advisory Board member, Nancy Schon, explains that CRC leadership had the idea to build a skate park because they realized that “skateboarders were not kids who wanted to cause trouble, but athletes with few places to practice.”  The skate park will provide recreational opportunities and a “world-class wheel-friendly destination” for Greater Boston’s skateboarder community.

YES and CRC plan to expand their partnership and offer additional programming for teens at the Lynch Family Skate Park in 2016.