Photo: Getting a head start

Snowmass Village’s first-ever free Kindergarten Readiness Camp is taking place at Snowmass Chapel this week.

A group from the chapel’s Project 18 program, called the Teen Action Council, stepped up to help out when they learned that not all children in the Roaring Fork Valley have access to preschool. Research from Aspen Community Foundation’s Cradle to Career initiative prompted the teens to take action last spring, and they created a half-day program that focuses on basic skills needed for kindergarten.

The teen leaders include high school students Anna Belinski, Blair Buchanan, Yasha Carroll, Jessica Coxon, Elizabeth DeWetter, Dana Mielke, Harriet Pryor, and recent high school graduate Zach Kendrick.

Project 18 helps young people develop character through wilderness experience, service, spirituality and leadership development. For more information, visit http://www.project18aspen.com.