AmeriCorps*VISTA

2008-2009 VISTA Positions

Vermont Campus Compact is looking for people to fight poverty as organizers, collaborators, and catalysts for change as AmeriCorps*VISTA Members. Each Member will serve one year at a participating college or community organization, working with students, faculty, administration, and local communities to build volunteer and service-learning programs on the campus and mobilize the resources of higher education to serve the needs of the community. By coordinating the integration of service and academics, you will effect sustainable change that serves community needs while fostering much needed leadership and civic engagement in college students.

POSITION DESCRIPTIONS

General responsibilities include:

• Building and maintaining community partnerships
• Recruiting student volunteers
• Training student leaders
• Increasing access to and retention in higher education for low-income students
• Working with faculty to develop service-learning programs.

Benefits Include:

In addition to extensive professional development training, members receive a living stipend, health benefits, and can elect to receive an educational award to pay off existing student loans or finance future education.

Qualifications:

• College Degree (Bachelor degree preferred)
• Excellent communication skills
• Public speaking skills
• Desire to work with college students
• Volunteer experience and a demonstrated commitment to service
• Leadership experience

A car and valid driver's license is required for this position.

All positions will begin August 18, 2008.

To apply, please email (preferred), fax, or mail a cover letter, résumé, and three references to:

Tori Kuehn
AmeriCorps*VISTA Team Leader
Vermont Campus Compact
Marbleworks Complex
152 Maple Street, Suite G1
Middlebury, VT 05753
vkuehn@middlebury.edu
Phone: 802-443-5652
Fax: 802-443-2047

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2008-2009 VCC VISTA Positions Include:

VISTA Leader (Middlebury, VT) POSTION FILLED
The VISTA leader will make both a statewide and tri-state impact as they recruit, support and train other VISTAs throughout their experience and help them fight poverty in their communities. VISTA Leaders assist VISTA members to coordinate the integration of service and academics so they effect sustainable change that serves community needs while fostering the development of leadership skills and civic engagement in college students.

The Team Leader works with VCC staff to provide resources and support for members, plan trainings and conferences, maintains strong communication and networks among the VCC A*VISTA members, and collaborates with other Northern New England Campus Compact VISTA leaders and staff for tri-state events, and works with program development at the VCC office.

With a dozen sites ranging from urban to rural, the Vermont Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA program offers many exciting opportunities for persons wishing to take a leadership role in a progressive field.

The VISTA Leader works closely with the AmeriCorps Programs Coordinator to manage the Vermont Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA team. The VISTA Leader will be responsible for:

VISTA Leader candidates must have served for one year of National Service with AmeriCorps VISTA.

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Washington West Supervisory Union (Waitsfield, VT)
The overall goal of the project is to develop a supervisory union-wide program/system for service and Service-Learning, within laboratories of democracy, that is aligned with a curriculum that is cohesive and collaborative and promotes student engagement and essential, deep, and enduring understandings about equity. This project will continue to build upon the successes that have occurred through the Learn and Serve funded project for Harwood Union Middle and High School over the course of the past three years, as well as our first year with our VISTA Member. Also, since 2006, Washington West has collaborated with KIDS Consortium. With the support of KIDS, a Service-Learning Leadership Team works to foster and maintain service-learning initiatives throughout the district, including five primary schools, two middle schools and Harwood Union High School. For the 2007-2008 school year, a VISTA Member worked with our schools to continue the work of the Learn and Serve project and spread the service-learning sucessesses that Harwood has sustained, throughout the supervisory union. Continuing this project next year would provide the necessary resources and support for the ongoing work of increasing K-12 service-learning and civic engagment options to meet the learning needs of our students, while aligning to some authentic service needs of our communities. The combination of Harwood's beginning successes, the support of KIDS Consortium and our partnership with Vermont Campus Compact and VISTA for the 2007-2008 school year creates an ideal environment for a VISTA volunteer to partner with us again in the fall of 2008. The VISTA will:

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University of Vermont- Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources (Burlington, VT) POSTION FILLED
The University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources seeks an Americorps VISTA to further develop long-term, meaningful partnerships between the RS and its surrounding community. The VISTA will work to match faculty and students with appropriate partners in the community and to connect faculty and community members with resources to make partnering on environmentally based projects easier and more effective. Key responsibilities include: Receiving, organizing, and seeking appropriate matches for community projects related to the environment and natural resources. Documenting and evaluating community-based learning activities in the RS. Designing and piloting a leadership development program for students, in which current students will gain leadership and professional skills while providing service to the RS Dean's office. Other responsibilities include: Assisting in further developing and sustaining the new Office of Experiential Learning in the RS. Contributing to multicultural education and other efforts related to diversity in the RS. And establishing and coordinating activities to promote community involvement in the RS. Candidates should have a experience in community-based work and have an interest in developing creative and interdisciplinary projects. Candidates should possess a high level of organizational skill, an ability to present themselves professionally to a wide audience, and proficient knowledge with computer applications. A background in natural science or environmental studies, and an interest in higher education programs, is preferred.

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College of St. Joseph (Rutland, VT)
Small independent college in Vermont seeks volunteer interested in a challenging and rewarding professional opportunity working with foster care students as they transition into the college environment; facilitating personal life skills development programming; and connecting students to community service opportunities working with seniors and facilitating financial asset development. Position supplies housing, meal plan, campus benefits related to gym and library access, and possible tuition remission. Volunteer would be implementing and developing a new program in conjunction with strategic plan of the College of St. Joseph master plan.

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University of Vermont- Campus Kitchen Project (Burlington, VT) POSTION FILLED
The University of Vermont (UVM) is seeking an A*VISTA member to fill the position of our first Campus Kitchen Coordinator. Campus Kitchens are a new hunger relief effort taking place on campuses across the United States. UVM will launch the first Campus Kitchen in Vermont early in 2009 and need a dynamic, organized, and dedicated person to help launch the project. This position will manage a student task force, assist in training and scheduling volunteers to work in the kitchen, do large amounts of fundraising to support the $15-20,000 project budget, and work closely with community agencies. Experience in fundraising, community organization relationship building, student club advising, and student leadership support is important. A Bachelor's degree, personal experience in student organizing on campus, and an ability to work independently and as part of a team required. If you are interested in addressing hunger relief in a semi-rural community and working closely with passionate student leaders, then this job is for you! Additional perks include access to campus resources and living in the beautiful city of Burlington, VT. It is important to also mention in this proposal that the Gettysburg College Campus Kitchen just was awarded an A*VISTA to help build their project.

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World Learning (Brattleboro, VT) POSTION FILLED
The World Learning post-program project coordinator will be responsible for initiating World Learning's post-program services, often called re-entry services, as they relate to civic engagement, social action, academic enhancement and professional development. World Learning's re-entry project focuses on providing program participants with tools, resources and networks that will help them put into action the transformational international experiences they had while on our programs. One of the main responsibilities will be to coordinate the World Learning Fellows project. The World Learning Fellows project will better equip our students and alumni to tackle the social issues they learned while on our programs; issues such as poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, social justice, economic development, and public health. The Fellows project will provide resources and training to support students as they take their international experiences and apply them to their everyday lives on their campuses and in their communities. The post-program project coordinator is the first full-time individual responsible for researching, developing and implementing projects that will give our students and alumni tools for global citizenship.

Primary job responsibilities include:

• Research, write, develop and implement resources, activities, conferences and trainings that provide students with skills for social action, civic engagement, academic enhancement and professional development as global citizens
• Collect data, write and organize handbooks, online materials, toolkits and best practices that focus on transforming study abroad and international experiences into social action; these may include a student re-entry manual, a campus chapter toolkit, a media/citizens journalism toolkit and others
• Coordinate the new World Learning Fellows Project, including being the first point of contact for all Fellows, providing on-going support to ensure that Fellows implement their action plans, and monitor and report project progress
• Develop online materials and webpages providing students, alumni and parents with resources to become more engaged global citizens on their campuses and in their communities
• Aggregate and disseminate information from different departments and individuals within WL who are working on social justice, civic engagement and professional development in order to make this information accessible to our students
• Write and edit content related to civic engagement, social action and global citizenship for e-newsletter
• This position will work for and in collaboration with all World Learning programs and departments directly related to providing students with resources to make them more engaged global citizens on their campuses

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Contact John Coutley with any questions about Vermont Campus Compact's AmeriCorps*VISTA Program