VINE CORPS INC
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Mission Statement
VineCorps is a comprehensive youth development organization that builds neighborhood hubs of activity, connection and growth for teens in under-served areas of Prince George's County, Maryland, offering personally-tailored educational support, family assistance, and access to crucial life experiences beyond the classroom. VineCorps engages youth during out-of-school time to help them own responsibility, contribute, make the most of good opportunities, take the right risks, work through setbacks, navigate transitions, and realize their own unique potential, in school and in life.
About This Cause
Our Community: Designed for teens to learn, grow and thrive, VineCorps is first and foremost a community of high expectations, relentless encouragement and caring accountability. In particular, we are committed to ensuring that each young person finds a positive peer group, weaves together an effective support system, gains a substantial education, and enters adulthood rooted in hope, guided by purpose, and equipped with good skills, healthy attitudes and constructive habits. To do this, at base VineCorps is a growing support system, and we are gratefully indebted to all the people who comprise it. What We Do: In our work to promote positive efforts among youth, VineCorps continually strives to engage people more effectively in the following core areas: 1) Authentic, Intentional Community — Youth thrive when they have a place to thoroughly be known, be loved and belong with deep respect and affection. In addition to home and school, "third places" of rich community life (physical, not just virtual) are also highly important, and especially so for teens and young adults. 2) Comprehensive Educational Support — Among any group of youth on any given day, particular needs include everything from homework help to intensive mentoring, building academic skills to practicing life skills, active listening to accessible mental health care, improving school-related communication to forceful special-needs advocacy, the right school and classes to a decent job, transportation to tuition assistance, goal-oriented coaching to upholding appropriate consequences, and more. 3) Tangible Leadership Experiences — Young people require activities and enterprises that become theirs to lead and run as they gain experience and maturity. What's more, youth peer relationships carry the culture, so they must assume responsibility for observing how to care for one another, function as a group, and advance the common good. Our Mission: Running weekly programming since 2011, VineCorps' mission is to provide young people (12-20 years old) from under-served areas of Prince George's County, Maryland, with the educational enrichment, personal support and family assistance necessary to make the most of good opportunities, take the right risks, overcome setbacks, navigate transitions, and realize their own unique potential, in school and in life. Intentionally (but not exclusively) geared to students contending with challenging circumstances (low income, first-generation college bound, special needs, etc.), VineCorps closes gaps in opportunity and achievement by offering personally-tailored academic support, access to crucial life experiences beyond the classroom, and myriad ways for youth to take responsibility and contribute. Through all our activities, VineCorps cultivates connectedness, meaning: (1) close relationships with caring people; (2) exploration of heritage and purpose as a meaningful part of something larger than oneself; and (3) extensive networks of accessible support. This crucial approach is evidence-based, with research in health sciences, neurosciences, and social sciences all attesting that these connections are among the most consequential factors affecting health, well-being, learning and growth. Our Activities: Study Halls — During the school year, VineCorps runs weekly Study Halls where volunteer learning coaches offer students homework help, academic tutoring, application assistance (for schools, financial aid, employment, and other programs), STEM activities, goal-oriented life-skills mentoring, caring accountability, and plenty of encouragement. College & Career Preparation — Throughout the year, VineCorps' College & Career Preparation program works comprehensively with high school juniors and seniors, along with their parents, forming peer support teams to ensure they graduate on time and move directly, successfully and affordably into college or other solid post-secondary opportunities. In addition to assisting with schoolwork, strengthening academic skills, and guiding research and application processes for admissions and financing, VineCorps also focuses students on the habits of attitude and behavior most advantageous to educational and career attainment. Open Gym — Year round, VineCorps hosts weekly supervised Open Gym sessions that provide a healthy recreational outlet for pick-up basketball, indoor soccer, hanging out, and other appropriate uses of the space. Community Service — VineCorps emphasizes to students that they should not only seek to meet their own legitimate needs, but more, they should recognize and experience themselves as needed — as instrumental in the well-being of others. In addition to making sure they complete their graduation service requirements, VineCorps provides opportunities for youth to plan, participate in and reflect on a variety of service-learning activities. Employment Assistance — VineCorps assists teens as they prepare for and seek out employment. In addition to the mechanics of the job search — resumes, application forms, work permits, interview practice, networking, etc. — VineCorps also addresses crucial "soft skills", such as communication, positive attitude, accepting feedback, teamwork, taking initiative, and reliability. Pursuit of summer employment is best begun in winter. Immersion Experiences — VineCorps strongly encourages and provides support for youth to participate in intensive, away-from-home programs that specialize in cultural, language, service learning, and outdoor adventure immersion. The new, fertile perspective gained can be transformative in young lives, inspiring a more mature approach to the year-long grind of family, school and work responsibilities. Summer Leadership Adventures — During the summer, VineCorps operates an adventure leadership development program with weekly challenges in the great outdoors. Most are day-long (and long-day) outings here in the mid-Atlantic region, but some are overnight for one to three nights and venture further away. Activities have included hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, flat-water and ocean kayaking, water tubing, horseback riding, high ropes courses, camping (in the mountains and on the beach), spelunking (caving), paintball, go-carting, and youth-directed community service projects. Activities are designed to be fun but difficult, pushing the group beyond its collective comfort zone and thus presenting opportunities to practice effective communication, team-building, problem-solving, collective responsibility, conflict resolution, engaged citizenship, and other leadership skills in exciting, real-life contexts.