AmeriCorps VISTA

VOLUNTEERS IN SERVICE TO AMERICA

Founded in 1964, AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) is a national service program that lets citizens make a full-time, one-year commitment to fighting poverty by developing sustainable programs in local non-profit organizations. Participants receive a modest living stipend from the Corporation for National and Community Service and are eligible for an education award upon completion of their service year.

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What does a VISTA do?

A VISTA assignment can include various roles and activities, depending on the needs of the organization or community:

Building partnerships with community-based organizations
Assessing community or organizational needs and assets
Recruiting and training campus and community volunteers
Developing systems to manage people, data, and performance
Creating policies and procedures that increase agency effectiveness
Supporting citizen and student leadership and participation in service
Seeking new resources through fund-raising and grant-writing
Facilitating service-learning placements, community-based research, co-curricular service, and national days of service

Duke student volunteers in hairnets package food during a million meals event

Service Opportunities

Martin Luther King Jr. Service Day

Our VISTA supports service opportunities at Duke and Durham. The Rotary Clubs and Duke’s Office of Durham and Community Affairs have organized the Million-meal event with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.

A college student helps a young child with a school worksheet

Afterschool Program Support

America Reads America Counts

The VISTA will work to expand afterschool programming in Durham through volunteer recruitment and to modify program design to fit volunteer and learner needs. The Corps member will work to enrich programming support through social media & communications strategies, evaluation of impact, and program design to best fit volunteer, learner, and community requests.