Sound to Summit takes youth from South Puget Sound to the summit of Mount Rainier, providing urban teens with transformative experiences in local parks, nature, and wilderness.
Sound to Summit crews are comprised of youth (15-18) and two adult leaders. Crews work for five weeks in total. The first four weeks follow our traditional Youth Community crew format, where crews work with the local city and county parks departments completing a variety of local community conservation projects. The crews’ fifth week will take them to a nearby National Park to complete conservation projects, recreate, and learn about natural resources and the outdoors.
Join the sound to summit program
Sound to Summit connects urban youth with local parks and natural areas through hands-on community service and immersive outdoor camping adventures that encourage personal growth and the development of valuable work and life skills.
- For Ages 15-18
- 5-weekduration
- Members earn up to $520/week (with potential bonuses added)
job skills focus
2023 project of the year winner
Requesting School Credit
School Credit requests can only be processed after completion of a program.Â
NYC programs help you learn by doing. Each program follows a carefully developed curriculum with segments on ecology, resource management, work experience, job skills, leadership and life skills. You will learn a lot. However, you will need to talk to the counselor at your school about earning credit for this experience; only your school can make this decision.
To request school credit information be sent to your counselor please email info@nwyouthcorps.org with the following information:
1.) Name of participant
2.) Name of school counselor
3.) Name of school
4.) A way we can send information to your counselor :
     -mailing address
     – email address
   or – fax number
2026 dates
Session 1: June 22-July 24, 2026
Session 2: July 28-August 28, 2026
*Please note that these dates are subject to change.
Location:
Tacoma and Olympia, WA. The first four weeks of each session follow a day-program format, where participants will go home at the end of each workday. The fifth week of each session will take the crews to a nearby National Park, where they will camp while completing conservation projects during the day.
Tuition and Benefits
Members Receive:
The base stipend is $96.00 a day (up to a possible $480.00 weekly stipend)
- Plus $20.00 weekly Dependability Bonus
- Plus $20.00 weekly Safety Bonus
Participants leaving the program before graduation will receive a prorated portion of this stipend, calculated to the nearest full day of work, but will forfeit all bonuses.
Program Costs:
Youth Community programs have a tuition of $200. Tuition assistance is available to help cover most of these costs. Tuition Assistance is awarded based on need and we are determined to not make tuition a barrier for our programs, please contact us with any questions.