Our Blog

RTU participants cleaned up roadside litter as part of a new service option for RTU programming.

On September 21st, The Collaborative welcomed over 250 youth, caring adults, and other interested folks from Northshire schools and mountain towns to Northshire Civic Center’s Riley Rink at Hunter Park for the kickoff of our popular RTU program.

This year, The Collaborative is excited to announce that it is piloting a Spring and Summer RTU Program between April and July. Registration opened April 15th, and will close on May 31st. Visit the Spring/Summer RTU Program Portal to fill out your registration, and to access critical program information and updates. During this time, The Collaborative will host events focusing on developing healthy habits, engaging in positive relationships, and how to be a good digital and community citizen. We are deeply grateful to our partners at Vermont State Parks, Northshire Civic Center, Stratton Mountain Bike Park, and Vermont Macrame for providing incentives for participation.

This year, Dialogue Night, a hallmark event of RTU programming, was hosted by The Collaborative’s team of school-based reps at multiple events throughout the month of January. RTU is a youth substance misuse prevention and asset-building educational program that incentivizes the healthy choice of not using drugs and alcohol. This year’s RTU program focuses on building a “Community of Preventionists,” grounded in the idea that everyone in the community plays a part in substance misuse prevention.

Our Refuse To Use (RTU) program is excited to partner with Viking Nordic Center to offer our registered RTU participants a complimentary evening of snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and connecting with the wider RTU community. Explore this blog post to learn more about the event.

The Vermont Everyone Eats (VEE) program is a federally funded, short-term pandemic recovery initiative created to help restaurants, farmers, and eaters through the acute economic challenges of the COVID pandemic. The program, which began on August 1, 2020, will end on March 31, 2023.

Our Extended Day Program and Summer Camp program are hiring! Learn more about the job description and visit our Job Opportunities page to learn how to apply.