AmeriCorps VISTA

AMERICORPS VISTA

AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) members are a catalyst for change and serve in many capacities to reduce poverty, inequity, and unemployment. Members commit full-time to a full year (12 months) of service anywhere in the country.

VISTA members in afterschool programs provide indirect services and typically serve in a professional setting to perform capacity-building duties including grant writing, fundraising, partnership development, and coordinating volunteers and events. VISTA members can help organizations map and understand the afterschool landscape to better serve the community. They can perform research to identify focus areas and locations that need support. Members can create new programs and recruit and train volunteers.

VISTA members can also help organizations increase their marketing and social media footprint by managing online platforms, designing marketing materials, and developing communication and media outreach strategies. Members can create materials to increase awareness of afterschool programs and support the professional development of afterschool staff.

Morgan Staton of Boys & Girls Code Corps, created four partnerships with organizations providing STEM learning in Wake County, North Carolina to empower students to succeed in a digital economy. Valerie Fernando of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico created a network focused on making linguistic records and materials to revitalize the threatened Laguna Keres languages in the community.

VISTA members’ expertise and outside perspective can provide the hosting organization valuable insight on resolving challenges and the means to effect change.

Case Study Examples of Afterschool VISTA Members

North Carolina Afterschool Corps aims to build the capacity of afterschool programs that serve low-income children, while strengthening these programs’ connection to local colleges and universities. The organization’s AmeriCorps VISTA members provide services that increase the number and training of volunteers serving with afterschool programs, generate funding and in-kind resources to support these programs, expand local awareness of the value of afterschool, and enhance curriculum.

Collegiate Pathways leverages AmeriCorps VISTA members to support its Tech Sassy Girlz program, which aims to develop the next generation of female STEM leaders. With just one VISTA member the first year, they engaged over 300 middle and high school girls in STEM activities, raised $6,300 of in-kind support, and recruited volunteers who contributed 300+ hours of volunteer service to support its STEM programming.

Reading Partners places AmeriCorps VISTA members as development and site coordinators to perform extensive outreach in the community, where they attend neighborhood council meetings and meet with colleges and other organizations to present informational workshops. Through a canvassing approach, VISTA members have created partnerships and secured local funding. VISTA members serving as site coordinators develop volunteer engagement strategies to recruit and train hundreds of volunteers to provide effective reading support and tutoring to children, including in afterschool settings. Coordinators also plan volunteer appreciation events to improve volunteer satisfaction and retention. Currently, Reading Partners holds a 95% satisfaction rate among its volunteers.