2025 Year End Summary
Learn some of the stories behind the numbers included in our ‘By The Numbers’ insert! Here we break out some of the numbers and compare them to last year to provide context.
Level of Service - 48
in 2025 we worked with 48 young adults, providing academic instruction, employability skills instruction, personal and career counseling and transitional services. This number reflects a 4% drop from 2024 (50).
Our demographics reveal our average Corpsmember age is 18 and we have a 60/40 male to female ratio. Our geographic footprint for recruitment and enrollment covers Warren and Northern Hunterdon Counties.
Return on Investment
NJYC of Phillipsburg demonstrates a 57% ROI in Service alone!
Total Service Hours - 8,021
Value of Service - $296,536
Our Corpsmembers worked a grand total of 8,021 hours of service covering the Northwestern part of the state - working in Warren, Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, Sussex , (and even) Hudson Counties. The large part of this work is providing essential services to municipalities and other governmental agencies where Youth Corps does work that otherwise would not get done.
Those service hours alone have a value of just under $300,000 ($296,536)* representing a return on investment in the program of almost 57% in service alone for the covered period!
Youth Obtaining a High School Diploma - 18
NJYC of Phillipsburg graduated 18 young adults in 2025 - coincidentally the same number of graduates as last year.
We held two graduation ceremonies celebrating these impressive young adults - one in February and another in October. At both, families and friends gathered to acknowledge the herculean efforts of Corpsmembers who, motivated by personal pride and a desire to prove others wrong about them, set out on an alternative pathway to reach a watershed moment in their lives.
You can see the February graduation video here and the October video here or simply click below:
MIles of Trail Maintained - 32.5
Partnering with both the Warren County Department of Land Preservation (WCDLP), Merrill Creek Reservoir (MCR) and NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), NJYC of Phillipsburg is contracted to monitor and maintain 32.5 miles of trail in Warren, Sussex, Hunterdon, Hudson and Mercer counties. Our work with NJDEP focuses on the maintenance of the Warren Highlands Trail, (Map Here) - Merrill Creek Reservoir has us performing trail encroachment work, and rerouting a section of trail compromised by severe weather events. With WCDLP, The Morris Canal Greenway represents the majority of trail work for our program, with crews regularly maintaining the county-owned sections of the historic trail from Phillipsburg to Hackettstown.
Notable Highlight: Warren County Commissioner James kern presented us with a Proclamation celebrating the 40th Anniversary of NJYC in the state on National Trails Day, June 7th, 2025
About our partnership with Warren County Parks
Acres of Open Space Managed - 2,679 acres
This represents the majority of work in our portfolio We think this is an impressive number for our little program! Aided by the funding we receive from the Warren County Department of Land Preservation, Merrill Creek Reservoir
Above: Notching a Shell with a file uniquely identifies the turtle for easier recognition in subsequent surveys.
Turtles Surveyed & Data Recorded - 35
Above: Success! CM’s search for turtles in the Spring of 2025 pays off.
Working with MCR and @NewJerseyDEP Endangered and Nongame Species program - Corpsmembers regularly participated in surveys searching for turtles in their natural habitat. Members learned about the anatomy & unique habitats of Box and Wood turtles and then -by combing over streambanks, wetlands and fields -find the turtles and record the size, weight, gender, etc and notch each shell giving it a unique identification - and then log and submit the data to the NJDEP for analysis.
Monarchs Raised & released - 12
Over the past few years, we have been focused on habitat creation and restoration - seeing that those activities model what NJ Youth Corps does for the young adults it serves - providing supportive, nurturing habitats for a community in need. We’ve even incoporated the hands on activity of propgating our own milkweed plants by harvesting seeds from existing plants and having the Corpsmembers plant them and grow their own - using the plants that they;ve sown and incorporating them into our own planting projects.