What Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTAs Do
Campus Compact Volunteers in Service to America (VISTAs) spend a year of service on college campuses and in communities to address the needs of low-income communities. VISTA members leverage existing campus and community resources to facilitate sustainable local initiatives. Members of the Campus Compact VISTA team serve in a wide variety of communities and campuses. They meet regularly throughout the year for professional development and networking, and receive ongoing support from an on-campus supervisor, the state Campus Compact VISTA staff, and each other.
Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA members forward their campuses’ public mission in several important areas:
- Building relationships with community organizations
- Creating a rationale for a permanent staff position
- Supplying the resources and skills necessary for making service happen on campuses
- Connecting campuses to a national movement for civic engagement in higher education
Individual Placement, Collective Purpose
Campus Compact VISTA members are placed in Campus Compact member institutions and their community partner organizations. Each program is administered by a state Campus Compact, who organizes trainings, provides one-on-one technical assistance to VISTA members and supervisors, and supports VISTA members throughout their year of service. At each site, VISTAs are supervised and supported by a host site supervisor, who orients the VISTA member to the site and their work, support and collaborate with the VISTA member to complete his or her work plan, and provide regular, constructive feedback to the VISTA member.
Campus Compact VISTA Voices
- Glenda Bivens, Texas Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA alumni, explains what Campus Compact VISTA members do
. - Graham Murtaugh, Montana Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA Leader, explains why he joined the Campus Compact VISTA program .
- Katie Richlick, Michigan Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA Leader, explains what Campus Compact VISTA members do .
- Sadie Miller, National Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA Leader, explains how Campus Compact VISTA impacts members after their year of service
- Marianne Magjuka, Florida Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA Leader, explains why she joined Campus Compact
Campus Compact VISTA Projects
- Improving access to college for underrepresented populations
- Convening community forums to identify local needs and assets
- Action planning and assessment of partnerships and partnership activities
- Recruiting and coordinating placement of students as volunteers with local community agencies
- Helping to develop and support student service leadership programs
- Infusing service learning across college/university departments and disciplines
- Working with faculty to create and improve service-learning courses
- Advising and mentoring students and student groups involved in community service
- Planning and implementing tutoring programs in local public schools
- Designing alternative break programs
- Designing and building service related web sites
- Meeting with the college/university president to discuss service initiatives
Where are Campus Compact VISTAs located?
Campus Compact VISTAs are in 27 states nationally, including CT, FL, HI, IL, IA, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, UT, VT, WA, WV, and WI. Campus Compact VISTAs are placed at Campus Compact member campuses who have applied to receive a VISTA for a work plan specific to forwarding the civic goals of that institution. Each state places VISTAs at campuses in different ways, so contact the state affiliate you’re interested in. For states that place VISTA applicants on campuses, applicant preferences and qualifications are significant in the placement process.
