Twenty AmeriCorps members, recruited locally, will serve as Project Venture facilitators. Activities will take place in four settings: In-School, After-School, Out-of-School, and Multi-Day outings. Youth ages 10-18 will be recruited to participate. This project will engage predominantly Alaska Native youth. Communities are defined as remote, rural, and severely under-served.
AmeriCorps members (facilitators) will host approximately 27 In-School sessions. In-School sessions range from 45-60 minutes in length and are essential for group development, teaching skills and establishing group behavioral norms that frame the entire program.
After-School and Out-of-School sessions build in the intensity and challenge of activities. Group dynamics are solidified, communication is depend, problem-solving skills are practiced, and healthy relationships are developed through the planning and execution of service learning and cultural activities. Sessions typically run two and eight hours, respectively. AmeriCorps members will host approximately 50 After-School and 12 Out-of-School sessions. Examples of sessions include traditional dancing and singing; language revitalization and preservation; traditional storytelling; environmental activities which demonstrate the traditional value of taking care of and respecting the land; cooking classes utilizing traditional recipes and food preparation techniques; traditional tool, trap and net making; community gardening; and traditional art in the form of beading, carving, sewing fur/skins, or mask making.
Approximately three Multi-Day outings will be hosted during the program year. Multi-Day outings are comprised of wilderness immersion, healthy relationship refinement, cultural learning, and service learning. Skills and concepts that have been introduced in the In-School, After-School, and Out-of-School sessions are tested, practiced, and refined. Examples of Multi-Day outings include subsistence food activities such as fishing, hunting or berry-picking; culture camp – a traditional gathering where a community unites for two or more days to celebrate and impart the cultural knowledge of traditional customs and values; wilderness survival; and boating, water, or ice safety.