We are getting ready for another round of apprenticeships! Come and get involved and learn from some of the best in Berkshire county. Folks ages 14-25 can get involved. It’s free and we offer transportation to the site, leaving from GB, Monument Mountain and Mt. Everett! We offer apprenticeships at:

Red Lion Inn: Mondays 2/6 – 4/9
John Andrews: Tuesday 2/7 – 4/3
Sim’s Barber: Wednesday 2/8 – 3/28
Michelle’s Salon: Thursday 2/9 – 3/29
Studio: Thursday dates TBD

Orientation for parents and students: January 30th (at the drop-in center, 60 Bridge St. GB)

Call or email to sign up today!           528-2475 ask for Jocelyn/ email hidden; JavaScript is required

Title: RSYP to host High Oracle of Bhutan!
Location: The RSYP Drop-In Center at 60 Bridge Street, Great Barrington, Mass
Description: Join Druk Chokyong Tsimar, The High Oracle of Bhutan and Lama Rangbar AKA Man, Son of Peace, at the Railroad Street Youth Project for a day of practice, explanation, and co-creation.

Drop-in to all or part of this event, free to all, all welcome!
Email Michael Johnson fo…r more information: email hidden; JavaScript is required

9:30 – 11am
The practice of “Sending and Receiving” taught by Lama Rangbar followed by the practice of The Mountain of Burnt Offerings (an incense offering to heal our world).
11 – 12pm
An explanation of the benefits of creating a “Heart Support Mandala” For the World at this time.A talk by the Oracle Druk Lama Chokyong, followed by a Q and A session.
12 – 2pm
Potluck lunch/intermission
2 – 4:30pm
(or as long as it has wind)
A Co-creation alliance session about Maha Bodhivastu, The American Mandala of World Peace. The vision, mission, its articulation, activities and Alliances.

“Maha Bodhivastu is more than just a monument in isolation of what is going on in our times… Each action we take with determination and fearlessness gives back to us immense confidence and treasures on the levels of form (physical reality), speech (vibratory reality) and Mind (all pervasive openness reality). This IS the way we can win in this transformation from slavery to actual collective liberation.”
- Lama Rangbar Nyimai Ozer
Start Time: 09:30
Date: 2012-01-08
End Time: 16:30

Green Drinks is a monthly social event hosted by the folks who create Orion magazine for people like you and I interested in everything from environmental education to local agriculture, the arts, green business & design, and the ways all of these intersect. We usually have 50 or so folks from around the area stop by.

Please come with your business card, posters to share for an upcoming event in the area, etc, to share with your peers.

As always there will be deliciously free snacks courtesy of our lovely/handsome Route 7 hosts, and gloriously free copies of the current issue of Orion magazine for your enjoyment.

So grab a friend or two and bring them down to share what you’re working on (green or not) and to meet others active in your community.

Please forward this on to your friends & share with your social media contacts…the more the merrier!
Start Time: 17:15
Date: 2012-01-05
End Time: 19:30

We had a meaningful and successful College Readiness Workshop evening here at the Drop-In Center here on Bridge Street Tuesday night. 7 local college readiness experts were in attendance including representatives from Hudson Valley Community College, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Mildred Elley, Miss Hall’s School, as well as financial aid advice from RBC Wealth Management. The first half of the evening featured pizza and snacks donated by the Gypsy Joynt, Taft Farms, Barrington Bagels, and Dunkin’ Donuts over a group discussion about navigating financial aid, college interviews, application specifics, essay topics and advice, as well as discovering which school fits best for each student. The second half of the evening featured small break-out sessions where students shared specific questions and concerns around the application process in more detailed student-centered conversations. The support of our adult leaders in attendance was inspiring and the openness to learn that the college-students-to-be approached the workshop was truly impressive.

Thanks again to all of our experts!

 (Youth exploring their college options for next year)

Volunteerism contributes significantly to humanitarian response, peace and development worldwide.  From disaster preparedness and response to risk reduction and health promotion, the role of volunteers and volunteering in community-building has been consistently acknowledged in various UN resolutions and reports. According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, the volunteer sector contributes US $400 billion annually to the global economy. Yet the contribution and potential of volunteerism as a development asset is yet to be fully recognized. This was addressed by the international community when the United Nations designated the year 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers (IYV). In a ground-breaking resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) at the end of the IYV, Member States concurred that, “Neglecting to factor volunteering into the design and implementation of policies could entail the risk of overlooking a valuable asset and undermining traditions of cooperation that bind communities together” (A/RES/56/38 of 5 December 2001). Subsequently in 2008, UNGA resolution 63/153 reaffirmed the significance of volunteerism for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and called for marking the 10th anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers or “IYV+10” in 2011.

The 10th Anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers provides an opportunity to engage the will, the positive energy and the innovation of millions of people towards realizing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and achieving sustainable development. It is also an opportunity for NGOs worldwide to “reclaim” volunteerism and its building blocks (i.e. respect, understanding, trust, solidarity and reciprocity) as their own underlying principles.  It also calls on governments, UN entities and other civil society actors to engage in creating an enabling environment to support volunteerism.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide.  UNV is the focal point for IYV+10 to galvanise action at the national, regional and global level to celebrate volunteering as an expression of our common humanity. This year the annual DPI/NGO Conference which will take place in Bonn, Germany in early September will also celebrate the links between volunteerism and sustainability under the banner “Sustainable Societies; Responsive Citizens”.  Indeed, the UNV programme is an important partner in organizing and hosting the DPI/NGO Conference.

Title: Railroad Street Youth Project Annual Culinary Dinner
Location: Red Lion Inn Main Street Stockbridge, MA
Description: This year, the culinary class will conclude with an International themed 5-course meal at the Red Lion Inn. Dinner is prepared by the Culinary Arts students under the guidance of Red Lion Inn’s Brian Alberg, John Andrew’s Restaurant Dan Smith, Bizen’s Michael Marcus, Mission’s James Burden and Zucchini’s Mickey Saldato. Tickets for the dinner are $100 each. For reservations contact the Red Lion Inn at: 413-298-5545.

Also, there will be a raffle to win 80,000 American Airlines frequent flyer miles. Tickets are $20 each. The drawing will be held during the dinner, you do not have to be present to win.

Hope to see you there!
Start Time: 5:30 pm
Date: 2010-12-06

In case you haven’t heard, the Hornet’s Nest is AWESOME!  It is a 100 acre paintball haven.  It boasts more than  7 large arenas all with different themes and potential set-ups that can be used in many ways to ensure an action packed day.  There is the castle on the hill, the ghost town, sniper’s ridge, indoor/outdoor speedball, and more.  You do not want to miss this last chance before the winter.

As well as having the coolest facilities around, the Hornet’s Nest also can also provide a full high quality set-up that includes a great gun, helmet, armor, paintballs, CO2, hoppers, and more.  If you need a full rental, please bring $20 to put towards the $56 rental fee, RSYP will cover the rest.

We will be leaving the drop-in center around 11:00m on October 11th (Monday) and retuning by 6:00pm.  Please contact Jules Jenssen at RSYP to sign up and put in your deposit to ensure that you have a spot.

Alternatively, you can also contact RSYP through Facebook, just search for Railroad Street Youth Project, or email us at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Thanks!  Get ready to rumble!!!!

Rotating Artwork Application