VISTA – Volunteers in Service to America
VISTA is one of three branches of AmeriCorps, a national service program that is federally-funded and intended to alleviate poverty in communities across the US through capacity-building measures. VISTA service lasts one year, though some positions are summer-long terms.
Click here to learn more about VISTA service.
I left my home in Chicago to begin VISTA service in Southeast Alaska in late April, 2016. My service assignment led me to Thorne Bay, a small, remote town of roughly 500 people, where I would build capacity for the town’s public library.
“VISTA expands the ability of sponsor organizations to fight poverty through capacity building measures. Capacity building is working with staff and the communities to create, expand, or strengthen the systems and processes that help an organization carry out its anti-poverty work. These tasks and activities include the transfer of knowledge/skills, products, and relationships.”
VISTA campus resources