AMERICORPS* VISTA OPPORTUNITIES
AmeriCorps«VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) is a full-time, national service program for individuals interested in developing lasting solutions to the problems of poverty in America. AmeriCorps«VISTA members serve in community and faith-based nonprofit organizations and with other agencies and local governments to develop and expand services and programs that help bring low-income people out of poverty. The AmeriCorps«VISTA program has been addressing the needs of impoverished communities since 1965. In total, more than 146,000 individuals have joined forces with 13,000 local organizations to address poverty across the nation.
Volunteer Maryland serves as an intermediary agency for nonprofit organizations that address the root causes of poverty and work to bring Maryland citizens or communities out of poverty. These organizations, called Sponsors, apply through Volunteer Maryland to host AmeriCorps«VISTA members for one-year full-time terms of national service.
What do VISTA Members do?
The role of the AmeriCorps«VISTA member is primarily to build the capacity and sustainability of the project and community. Below are some examples of the natural progression in the types of service performed by an AmeriCorps«VISTA member. AmeriCorps«VISTA members do not perform direct service (e.g. tutoring children, building houses, or delivering meals to homebound seniors), instead focusing on organizational development, outreach and community organizing, fund raising, and other capacity building activities at the Sponsor agency.