CU Public Service Center recruits for AmeriCorps*VISTA

The Cornell Public Service Center is currently recruiting for AmeriCorps*VISTA members to serve in the Ithaca community.

AmeriCorps is a federally funded network of national service programs that engage 50,000 Americans each year. VISTA stands for Volunteers in Service to America and is often referred to as the "Domestic Peace Corps." Since the early 1960s, the VISTA program has embedded long-term volunteers for one-year terms within low income communities to help address critical issues related to poverty. In 1993, VISTA formally joined the AmeriCorps network, and today nearly 6,000 AmeriCorps*VISTA members serve in hundreds of nonprofit organizations and public agencies throughout the country -- working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, increase housing opportunities or help bridge the digital divide.

In exchange for a full year of service to the community, AmeriCorps*VISTA members receive a modest living allowance, health benefits, a child-care subsidy, deferment of student loans, an end of the year stipend, and extensive training in community development and leadership. AmeriCorps*VISTA members must be at least 18 years of age and have a high school diploma or GED. College experience is preferred but not mandatory. A total of 13 people are being recruited, both locally and nationally, through the Cornell Public Service Center. Members will assist local non-profit organizations, such as the Village at Ithaca Initiative, the City of Ithaca Neighborhood Planning Initiative, the Ithaca Housing Authority, Tompkins County Family Treatment Court, Cornell Legal Aid's MacCormick Project and the Public Service Center. In addition, the United Way of Tompkins County also is recruiting AmeriCorps*VISTA members to serve many of its member organizations.

Individuals who choose to serve do so for a variety of reasons, such as opportunities to jump-start their careers, utilize their years of experience and become engaged in community development, while affecting social change. They are highly motivated and see the experience as an opportunity of a lifetime.

The Cornell Public Service Center is committed to helping AmeriCorps*VISTA members. The largest obstacle, for many, is housing. At least half of the recruits may come from places other than Ithaca and will need an inexpensive place to stay during their year of service.

For more information on either becoming a AmeriCorps*VISTA member, or for information on offering housing options to members serving in Ithaca, contact Athena Kalandros, VISTA project director for the Cornell Public Service Center, at 255-9382. Also, visit the AmeriCorps Web site at www.americorps.org.