The Method
AmeriCorps*VISTA, with over 1,000 projects and more than 5,000 members,
places individuals in disadvantaged communities for a full-time, full-year
commitment
to build the capacity of small community-based organizations.
Members are
assigned to local public and private non-profit organizations to work toward
meeting the community needs determined by the community itself. The AmeriCorps*VISTA
member’s role in addressing the problems of poverty in a particular community
are to mobilize community resources, increase the capacity of the low-income
community to solve problems, and ensure that activities initiated or expanded
by VISTAs are sustained by the community when they leave.
The members address
issues in the areas of human needs, health, education, public safety, and
environment.
For more than 35 years, AmeriCorps*VISTA members have been
helping bring individuals and communities out of poverty. Members serve
full-time
for a year in nonprofits, public agencies and faith based groups throughout
the country, working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create
businesses, increase housing opportunities, or bridge the digital divide.
In fiscal 2001, approximately 6,000 AmeriCorps*VISTA members served in
1,200 local programs.
AmeriCorps*VISTA:
http://www.americorps.org/vista/memberinfo.html
