AmeriCorps VISTA

About the Program:

In partnership with AmeriCorps, the Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA Program seeks to activate higher education institutions and their partners to work together to make an impact on poverty in their local community. Our host sites’ VISTA projects are developed in accordance with AmeriCorps VISTA’s core principles: an antipoverty focus, community empowerment, sustainable solutions, and capacity building. Campus Compact AmeriCorps members serving with the VISTA program build capacity for high impact programs, organizational approaches, and collective impact efforts focused on low-income individuals in one of the following areas: education, healthy futures, economic opportunity, and Veterans/military families. The Campus Compact VISTA program is comprised of a passionate cohort of individuals dedicated to service to others and making an impact on poverty.

AmeriCorps members in front of AmeriCorps backdrop

Program Priority Focus Areas:

In alignment with the mission and goals of Campus Compact, our AmeriCorps VISTA program concentrates its capacity building efforts in the following priority focus areas:

Education

Within this priority area Campus Compact supports projects that leverage a VISTA member to enhance access to services and resources that contribute to school readiness and learning loss, K-12 success, college access & success, STEM, and/or career & technical education for economically disadvantaged children and youth. AmeriCorps VISTA programs within this priority target new project development in communities with large concentrations of low-income students (e.g., Title 1 schools).

Economic Opportunity

Within this priority area Campus Compact supports projects that leverage a VISTA member to enhance access to services and resources that contribute to improved economic opportunities for economically disadvantaged individuals specifically in the areas of housing, employment/workforce development, and bridging the digital divide.

Healthy Futures

Within this priority area Campus Compact supports projects that leverage a VISTA member to enhance access to services and resources that contribute to improved food and housing security and access to healthcare for economically disadvantaged individuals.

Veterans and Military Families

Within this priority area, Campus Compact supports projects that leverage a VISTA member to build capacity for projects that focus on education, economic opportunity and healthy futures for low-income veterans and military families.

About AmeriCorps VISTA

Founded in 1965, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) is a federal anti-poverty program designed to provide needed resources to nonprofit organizations and public agencies to increase their capacity to lift communities out of poverty. In 1993, VISTA was incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of national service programs. AmeriCorps works to establish “service to others” as a cornerstone of our nation’s culture through several national service programs, including VISTA.

AmeriCorps VISTA supports efforts to alleviate poverty by providing opportunities for its full-time service members to create or expand programs designed to empower individuals and communities in overcoming poverty. To learn more about AmeriCorps VISTA, click here.