staff. Neal Young and Lindsey Evans have begun their 11 month term of service as AmeriCorps volunteers, a program funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Neal and Lindsey will work within the communities of Cushing, St. George, Thomaston, South Thomaston, Owls Head and Rockland to expand and maintain Trekkers programming and organizational capacity. Both Neal and Lindsey were recruited in partnership with the Great Strides Rural Education Corps, an AmeriCorps program of Goodwill Industries of Northern New England.
Neal grew up locally in Cushing and has been part of the Trekkers program from the time he was in 7th grade. He joined the Trekkers Leadership Program as an 11th grader, has been a adult leader, and now steps in to the role of Program Coordinator through his service with AmeriCorps. Neal is working towards a degree in International Relations from the University of Southern Maine, has studied Arabic at the University of Jordan in Amman, and recently attended Seton Hall’s Whitehead School of Diplomacy. In his spare time Neal enjoys international relations, travel, hiking and reading.
Lindsey joins us from Edgewood, Washington. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Community Recreation from Western Washington University in Bellingham. While working as an Event and Youth Program Coordinator for her university and as a Day Camp Counselor for the YMCA, she gained many exceptional organization and team building skills that she brings to Trekkers. Originally a Seattle native, Lindsey grew up in the beautiful Pacific Northwest leading a very active lifestyle. She looks forward to being able to share her passions for hiking, camping, traveling, running, kayaking, sailing, and biking with youth so they too can learn firsthand how to develop a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.
As Program Coordinators, Neal and Lindsey will be working to expand offerings to students including tutoring and Trekkers’ peer mentoring program Big Trek/Little Trek. They will also help in organizing expeditions, recruiting volunteers and overall administrative assistance. Their arrival at Trekkers is well-aligned with the organization’s six-year expansion plan to increase student enrollment and staff. Historically serving 120 students in the communities of Cushing, St. George and Thomaston, Trekkers began in 2011 to incrementally increase student enrollment in these communities and expand its service area to include students from the three additional communities of the consolidated RSU #13: Rockland, Owls Head and South Thomaston. Now in its 20th year, the organization serves 200 students in grades 7-12, providing these students yearlong mentoring programs that culminate in a 3−14 day expedition within the United States.
For more information, or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please contact Don Carpenter, Executive Director at don@trekkers.org or 207-594-5095.
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