Youth Enrichment Services

Yes Academy

YES Academy hosts four unique experiential educational programs throughout the year that serve youths ages 10 and up. Detailed information about each of programs can be found below. Youth must apply and be eligible for each program.


  • Girls Outdoor Adventure Leaders (GOAL)
  • Career Exploration Program
  • Junior Volunteer (JRV)
  • Richard Williams Memorial Scholarship



    • Girls Outdoor Adventure Leaders (GOAL)


    Serving girls ages eleven to fourteen.


    Girls Outdoor Adventure Leaders (GOAL) is a year-round program that provides pre-teen and teen girls (ages 11-14) with opportunities to develop leadership skills, explore individual sports (such as rock climbing, biking, skiing, and snowboarding), improve self-esteem, set and achieve goals, and challenge gender stereotypes. The GOAL program meets once a week during the school year and three times per week during the summer session for workshops and outdoor adventure activities. The school year is divided into monthly themes supported by guest speakers, workshops and discussions, including:



  • Identity, Vision, Goal Setting

  • Coping with Stress, Time Management, Balancing Responsibilities

  • Fitness and Nutrition

  • Self Esteem and Body Image

  • Healthy Relationships, Sex, Dating

  • Healthy Lifestyles

  • Family Time

  • Peer Pressure, Substance Abuse, Violence

  • Accepting Differences, Tolerance, Diversity

  • Caring for the World Around Us, Community Service, Environmentalism



    • GOAL Summer 2013 Brochure
    GOAL Summer 2013 Application & Registration Packet


    Career Exploration Program


    Preparing YESkids ages fourteen and up for the workplace


    The YES Career Exploration Program provides leadership and technical training for the workplace. The program is organized in three major parts: (1) 12 weeks of work readiness classes, (2) a week apprenticeship at YES, and (3) a paid summer job placement. The program, targeted to students 14 years of age and older begins in January and runs through the summer meeting weekly for two and 1/2 hours. Students are required to fulfill the first two parts of the program to be eligible for a part-time paid summer job. YES has placed students at companies such as Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the National Park Service, ZEVIN Asset Management, and Boston Public Schools.


    Topics covered in Career Exploration workshops include:



  • Resume Writing

  • Professionalism

  • Job Search Skills

  • Interviewing Skills

  • Computer Program Applications

  • Basic Office Tasks

  • Customer Service



    • Information about Career Exploration 2013 is now closed. Please check back in December 2013 for information on the 2014 program.

    2013 Career Exploration Program Flyer


    Click here to view photos of the 2012 Career Exploration Students at their job placements!



    Junior Volunteer


    Junior volunteers must be between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.


    The YES Junior Volunteers are inspired and challenged through one of the most high-impact and sought-after youth development programs in all of Boston! Many JRVs are veterans of the YES Operation SnowSports or Outdoor Adventure programs and are ready to give back through working in the rental shop, learning how to be ski and snowboard instructors, and by participating in dynamic after-school youth development workshops. As instructors, JRVs teach other youth how to safely enjoy the outdoors while acting as positive role models. YES has over 65 JRVs!

    JRVs work through a tiered youth development model, the JRV Ladder, to track personal growth and development using the same designations that mark the ski and snowboard trails. YES tracks each JRV’s progress in school, community service, on-site trainings and civic engagement, as well as other development areas. Youth work through the following levels:


  • Beginner: Orientation: Getting Your Feet Wet!

  • Intermediate: Understanding and Mastering: Policies and Procedures

  • Advanced: Activism: Master, Implement and Execute

  • Expert: The YES Community Ambassadors

    • JRVs enroll in the year-long program and are expected to maintain the following commitment:


  • Weekly three-hour shift in the YES rental shop that includes a one-hour youth development workshop.

  • Overnight weekend Instructor Training Clinic to New Hampshire in January.

  • One weekend day-trip per month from January through April.


    • YES JRVs also enjoy the following additional perks:



  • Free equipment rental from YES.

  • No-charge for YES trips if attending as a JRV.

  • Low-cost instructor training clinic. $100 includes transportation, lodging, lift pass and ski/snowboard school.

  • Opportunity to participate in the Pico Explorer Program – four weekends of ski and snowboard training at Pico and Killington, Vermont.

  • Invitation to Last Run Weekend, two days of skiing and riding at Killington, Vermont!


    • The Junior Volunteer Program accepts new applications during the following periods:

    April 1 through May 31, 2012
    August 15 through October 12, 2012

    Please click here for the 2013 Summer Outdoor Adventure Junior Volunteer Application

    2012-2013 Junior Volunteer Program Flyer

    All applicants participate in a group interview and receive a CORI background check.
    Applications are posted online and can be mailed, faxed or emailed to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

    Burton Miller, YES Volunteer Director
    (617) 267-5877 ext. 24 | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

    Richard Williams Memorial Scholarship


    Embracing academics and community service


    The Richard Williams Memorial Scholarship is an annual award presented to graduating high school seniors or GED recipients. The scholarship rewards students that demonstrate leadership skills and academic promise as well as aspire to higher education and community service. The vision is to recognize students who want to challenge and inspire, as YES founder Richard Williams did.


    ELIGIBILITY


  • Enrolled in a public or private high school.
  • Consistent and active participation in Youth Enrichment Services programming.
  • Excellence in community service and willingness to serve.
  • Evidence of academic effort.
  • Spirit of caring, belief in self and others.
  • Has specific financial need.


    • HOW TO APPLY


  • Complete an application for the Richard Williams Memorial Scholarship. The application for the next round will become available in December 2012.
  • A cover letter addressed Scholarship Committee describing desire for this scholarship.
  • A two-age, double-spaced personal essay telling the Scholarship Committee who you are and why you are passionate about community service. Please tell us something unique, special, or important about the person you are.
  • Two letters of recommendation from school counselor, principal or teacher on official letterhead.
  • An official high school transcript.
  • A resume, which includes honors, awards, extracurricular activities, community service, and employment.


    • Late, incomplete, or faxed applications will not be accepted. The cover letter, personal essay, letters of recommendation, transcript, and resume must be sent to:


    YES Academy Director
    Youth Enrichment Services
    412 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA  02118



    The application for the 2013 Richard Williams Memorial Scholarship is NOW AVAILABLE!
    Click here for the Application and Instructions.