Essex Heritage has built a strong youth employment and training program through our unique partnerships with the National Park Service and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our summer jobs program is directed towards youth ages 14-20 years. The teens are hired to work at the two national park sites in Salem and Saugus. Our Youth Jobs Internship Funding Program has allowed us to partner with local institutions to hire young adults in the community for projects such as research and archiving, environmental education, and event management and visitor services.

“I began this internship knowing little about this community’s rich history and less about archival work– I leave with a newfound passion in history and archives, hoping to pursue these interests academically in the future. This grant only added to my contentment with this internship by eliminating the financial stressors of internship work; I have always wanted to volunteer and gain experiences in organizations that are not able to financially compensate me, but as a full-time student with loans and limited time, it can be stressful and almost impossible.”

 

Our Summer Jobs Program is Now Closed for Applications

 General Job Description

Our Essex Heritage-run summer program is directed towards youth ages 14-20 years. The teens are hired to work at the two national park sites in Salem and Saugus and since 2015 the program has been expanded to include Bakers Island Light Station as well as many of our partners such as Appleton Farms in Ipswich—a working farm owned and operated by The Trustees of Reservations, the Rebecca Nurse Homestead in Danvers, and Camp Dennison in Georgetown.

Essex Heritage hires the youth for 8 -12 weeks and they work under the guidance and of NPS staff and a central supervisor from Essex Heritage. On site and at the parks, they acquire skills in historic preservation, building maintenance, natural resource management, interpretation and visitor operations. The Future Leaders also gain valuable trade experience in carpentry, electricity, shipwrighting, signmaking, and gilding. For many of these students this is their first job experience, so they are also given assistance on how to prepare for work, work-place expectations, discipline, proactivity, resume preparation, and career development. The impact on these students’ lives has been substantial, and several have returned to work at the park during the fall and also in subsequent summers. Our Future Leaders truly embody the concept of thinking globally and acting locally.

2024 Future Leaders

The 2024 Future Leaders season kicked off with our yearly OSHA 10-hour course for all new participants while returnees hit the ground running with their regular seasonal duties of maintaining the public spaces through their custodial, janitorial, and landscaping efforts.

In Saugus, the Future Leaders jumped right in to reprising their duties of ensuring that the site was kept clean and well maintained, and they began maintenance on the nature trail and garden. Each week, the Saugus Future Leaders worked with Biological Science Technician Bill Fuchs to continue their training in invasive species management and removal along the banks of the Saugus River. As the summer progressed, the folks in Saugus moved on to their major summer project of prepping and painting the windows and siding of the Saugus Iron Works Museum and Junior Ranger Station.

In Salem, participants had a change of pace from the regular schedule, this year splitting up the week between working on grounds/maintenance and the spars of Friendship of Salem. Three days a week, the youth prepped Friendship’s spars and bowsprit for a change from latex to oil paint. They learned about the history of Friendship and Salem’s maritime history, and the special techniques and paints used for marine applications. Across the wharf, Future Leaders kicked off the year by digging up the frontmost section of the cobblestone Custom House Driveway to allow for it to be raised. As the summer progressed, they also Other duties included removing the Derby House Storm Door for painting, creating signage for the wharf, and setting up for the Salem Maritime Festival.

The group was treated to a number of enriching experiences this year, starting with our annual sail training aboard schooner Adventure. Our youth worked alongside the Girls on Adventure participants and had the opportunity to meet Captain Michelle Bancewicz of Wicked Tuna fame. The group was given a tour of the Peabody Essex Museum, where they were brought to the “Bats!” exhibit, getting to see real Egyptian Fruit Bats at feeding time, as well as the roles and perceptions of bats in our cultural history. Both sites submitted a cardboard boat to race at the Maritime Festival, as well as assisting with the festival’s setup and breakdown and providing water to the exhibitors on the hot summer day. We took our annual tour of the Massachusetts State House, where the Future Leaders were taught about Massachusetts history and the importance of civics, and treated to a special tour of the Senate Chamber by Senator Joan Lovely, then spoke with Senator Lovely and Representative Manny Cruz. Senator Lovely and Representative Cruz then visited the Salem youth to see what they had been working on throughout the summer. As the summer drew to a close, the youth reflected on their experiences and were treated to a pizza party at their respective sites, ready to return to the school year and put their newfound skills to work.

For more information please contact
Charles Smith

CharlesS@EssexHeritage.org

(978)226-8154