By Emma Fleming
Reporter
AmeriCorps VISTA is a national program dedicated to service and poverty alleviation. The VISTA idea came from President John F. Kennedy in 1965. VISTA is an acronym for Volunteers in Service to America. AmeriCorps VISTA is essentially a domestic form of the Peace Corps. The organization provides educational and vocational opportunities to students while community building and contributing to the eradication of poverty. Parkland College has its very own AmeriCorps location right here on campus.
Whitney Carr, coordinator and intermediary for Parkland’s AmeriCorps VISTA branch, states that “AmeriCorps Vista is a federal program that is kind of similar to peace corps, but we focus more on American Communities.” Carr helps connect Parkland College students with the community and vice versa. Carr’s job as a volunteer coordinator is to help Parkland staff and students find different volunteer opportunities and service learning projects. “We help with learning projects,” Carr says. “We often work between faculty and students and determine what projects they want to work with.”
AmeriCorps VISTA is actively being rebranded, meaning that they are transitioning from the former “service learning” to the current “center for community engagement.” Carr explains the transition as “basically taking Parkland people and then branching them out into the community.” AmeriCorps VISTA’s goal for community engagement is being fulfilled through events such as the Activity Fair that took place on Wednesday, Sept. 5 from 11 a.m-1 p.m in Parkland’s Student Union. Carr helps run the event to encourage students to become involved in the Parkland community. According to Carr, many of the organizations that were brought into the Activities Fair were student and volunteer organizations. “I have recruited several organizations that we have worked with in the past,” Carr says “and we are hoping to strengthen those relationships.” Carr’s goal for the Activity Fair was to bring more students to participating organizations, and bring those organizations to the students.
AmeriCorps’ involvement and goal for the Activity Fair was to get more students and faculty members involved and engaged in the community. Carr discusses how it can be difficult to get students involved in the college atmosphere at a community college as opposed to a four year university where students are actually living on campus. Students and faculty are often coming and going and that can sometimes lead to a disconnect between instructors and students, and even a disconnect between students. AmeriCorps VISTA’s primary purpose is to reach out to students and help create a better connection between Parkland attendees. “People are working one or two jobs, and sometimes even more than that,” Carr claims “sometimes it is harder for people in the community college system to be able to reach out. It is more difficult for them to find [information].” Parkland’s AmeriCorps VISTA location provides information, community outreach and service opportunities to students so that the students do not feel burdened by the task of finding information themselves.
AmeriCorps VISTA’s involvement in events similar to the Activities Fair encourage students to discover a sense of community on Parkland’s campus. AmeriCorps VISTA is located in the C-wing and welcomes students to stop and discuss service or learning opportunities. The AmeriCorps VISTA is a great organization dedicated to serving Parkland’s student body. Whether through helping students find volunteer opportunities, organizing community building events like the Activities Fair or encouraging students to discover learning projects, AmeriCorps VISTA is dedicated to fighting poverty and improving relationships.