A Youth Conservation Corps program consisting of 60 crew members will be stationed at Camp Horseshoe over the summer for the first time since 1982.
YCC programs began at Camp Horseshoe in the 1970s when the camp was still run by the YMCA. Current Horseshoe Leadership Center Director Regina Phillips was a YCC director for a summer.
With that experience and understanding of the benefits of the program, Phillips suggested bringing YCC back to Camp Horseshoe. “I saw the benefits, it was a fabulous program,” she said. “We are excited that after many years we are doing this again as it benefits the Forest Service and Monongahela National Forest and Horseshoe,” Phillips said.
Phillips wrote a proposal to the Forest Service, and Forest Recreation Program Manager W.J. Cober was on board. “He made it happen,” Phillips said.
This co-ed program will consist of two three-week programs. Each program will contain 30 students. High school students from all over the country applied to participate in the program. “They are maybe seeking exposure to a career field that they are interested in,” Phillips said.
The old YCC program at Camp Horseshoe lasted six weeks with the same participants. Disadvantaged youth in West Virginia were selected to participate.
This year’s crew members will sleep in cabins on the Camp Horseshoe property. Educational trips are planned throughout the three weeks each group will be there.
Projects will include sites in the National Forest as well as on Camp Horseshoe property. Phillips is excited to see some of the area’s trails receive attention and work.
“We want this to be ongoing,” Phillips said. “We don’t want it to be a one year thing.”
YCC is a summer youth employment program that places youth in work experiences on national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and fish hatcheries while cultivating an ethic of environmental stewardship and responsibility. YCC programs are typically 8 to 10 weeks and members are paid the minimum wage for a 40-hour work week. Most YCC opportunities are non-residential programs, making Camp Horseshoe’s program unique.
The Civilian Conservation Corps and YMCA of West Virginia opened Camp Horseshoe in 1940. In 2013, ownership was transferred to the Ohio-West Virginia Youth Leadership Association.
