It's a somewhat chaotic scene. Ten kids are trying to fill up water bottles around an outside table in the yard of local nonprofit Partners for Youth. In all, they’ll fill 1,200 of them for aid stations at this year’s Emerald Mountain Epic Race, which benefits Routt County Riders and Partners for Youth. But that’s only in the water actually makes it into the bottles.

The banter from the bottle-filling speaks for itself. “Hey, you just dumped it out!” comes one cry. “Ow, my toe…you got my pants wet!” yells another. “Hey, you’re splashing me!” chimes in a third. Charlie Rosemond, and fellow crew leader Madelyn Amashita, are amazed things haven’t broken out into a full-on water fight yet. 

The kids, ages 11-13, are part of RMYC’s Service Learning Crew (SLC), which provides education and experience in citizenship, volunteerism, community service, and self-development for local middle school youth in Routt and Moffat counties. The bottle-filling project is their second chore today; earlier, they were at Hayden Fresh Farms, moving birds and eggs around—and the obligatory blowing of feathers. “It involved a lot of relocating chickens and collecting eggs,” says SLC crew leader Charlie Rosemond. “It was their favorite project of the entire two weeks.” And it was certainly better than an earlier project removing noxious weeds from Stagecoach State Park, which Charlie says, “makes filling water bottles pretty fun.”

Usually, the crews work on a project for two hours each morning, then partake in a recreational activity in the afternoon. Today, however, that “recreational activity” is filling water bottles—which many of them are making into a game or water fight. “It’s my favorite because I get to play in the water,” says participant Finn Gannon, 11, between splashes. “But I also like going to the farm.”

Right now, for the first time ever, RMYC has three such Service Learning Crews operating simultaneously, with 30 youth in the field (usually, it hosts five two-week sessions throughout the summer, each fielding two crews of 10). The other crews operating now are led by leaders Eli Schechter and Felicia Hart, and Becky Maly and Macy Canedy. This is Charlie’s sixth year with RMYC; the first he spent as a crew member, the last four as an assistant leader, and this one as a leader. 

Partners for Youth and Emerald Mountain Epic race organizers are glad for the help, both from leaders like Charlie for managing the mayhem and from the kids for chipping in. “It’s awesome and really helps a lot,” says Partners for Youth operations manager Laurie Keogh. “The kids are amazing. We couldn’t do it without them. It’s an amazing program RMYC has going for youth in the area.”

After the weekend’s event, the Service Learning Crew members will help clean up after race, walking the trails alongside their leaders with trash bags in tow. “They’re a great help and fun as well,” says Emerald Mountain Epic race director Paul Majors. “The whole time they’re just joking around and having fun, working in an assembly line system filling the bottles. They did a great job.” 

But all good things come to an end. This is the last Service Learning Crew session of the year, with Charlie, Madelyn, and the other SLC crew leaders working 11 weeks straight so far. After today, the kids will head to Yampa Street to help design and paint sidewalk and storm drain murals as part of partner nonprofit Yampatika’s River Health Mural Painting project. Next week, it’s off for two nights of camping at the Mount Elim Bible Camp on Lynx Pass. 

“Is there going to be water there?” one kid asks, splashing water into his bottle. 

“We’ll be able to swim in Stagecoach Lake,” answers Charlie.

“Yay!” comes the reply. “Hey, you’re splashing me!”

Sidebar: Inside RMYC’s Service Learning Crew

Augmenting its other programs, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps’ Service Learning Crew (SLC) targets local youth ages 11-13 in Routt and Moffat counties, providing education and experience in citizenship, volunteerism, and community service. Service projects include gardening, planting, trash pick-up, light trail work, and other community beautification projects. “It enhances their sense of belonging and community connection through meaningful outdoor-based service projects, education, and group recreation activities,” says RMYC’s Lauren Vandenhurk. With up to 12 mixed-gender crew members supervised by two crew leaders who facilitate education curriculum and help engage youth in conservation-based community projects, the sessions are two weeks long, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Each day, crews participate in two to three hours of volunteer activities, one to two hours of education, and up to three hours of recreation time. At the end of each session is an optional two-night camping trip, with all gear and food provided. ​Each session has a registration fee of $200, with scholarships often available.​ Want to help support RMYC and these local youth? Donate here. 

Sidebar: Meet SLC Leader Charlie Rosemond

Number of years in Steamboat: Born and raised.

What are you doing when not at RMYC? 

I attend Southern Utah University, where I am studying geospatial sciences, which is a GIS-focused major. Additionally, I work as a ski patroller for Brian Head Resort and as a GIS tech for my university. 

How long have you been involved with RMYC? This was my sixth consecutive season with RMYC, but my first as a crew leader. I started as a member of Community Youth Crews (CYC) and Regional Youth Crews (RYC) before becoming an assistant crew lead on SLC and CYC crews. This summer, I was a crew lead for an SLC crew.

What do you like about it? 

I enjoy the sense of community that comes with RMYC, both inside crews and among coworkers. I also enjoy how much it gets me outside.

What all has it taught you?

 RMYC has taught me a great deal about my leadership style and how I work with others, which is helpful in my other jobs and in college. When I was young, it helped me realize I could accomplish more difficult things. 

What do you like about SLC?

I enjoy working with kids. Every SLC crew is distinctly different, and it is fun to see how the groups will come together to complete service work and other tasks. 

What kind of projects do you lead? 

The most common project is removing noxious weeds like hounds tongue and musk thistle in South Routt, but we also frequently visit ranches and gardens to help with miscellaneous tasks. Occasionally, we also do trail work in North Routt. Additionally, we paint murals around river drains on Yampa Street every two weeks.

How do the kids seem to like it? 

SLC seems to always be a positive experience for kids. It is the introduction program to RMYC, so we try to make sure it's as positive an experience as possible. It is very common for kids to want to come back next season.

Any plans for the future? 

I'm currently in my junior year of college, but I hope to attend graduate school at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and study Earth and Space Sciences.