PCCE began our AmeriCorps VISTA program in the year 2000. From that time, we have supported over 600 members!!

AmeriCorps is the federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. AmeriCorps brings people together to tackle the country’s most pressing challenges through national service and volunteerism. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities and those serving. AmeriCorps helps make service a cornerstone of our national culture.

Founded in 1965, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) is a federal anti-poverty national service program designed to provide resources to nonprofit organizations and public agencies to strengthen efforts to address poverty and poverty-related problems in the United States. In 1993, VISTA was incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of national service programs, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, now known as AmeriCorps.

AmeriCorps VISTA supports efforts to address poverty by providing opportunities for Americans, 18 years of age and older, from a diverse range of backgrounds, to dedicate a year of full-time service with a sponsoring organization (“sponsor”) on a project that will create, strengthen, or expand initiatives designed to empower individuals and communities in overcoming poverty.

An AmeriCorps VISTA project refers to a set of activities, as set forth in a project application, for which a federal award of VISTA resources is made. An AmeriCorps VISTA project is operated and overseen by, and the responsibility of, PCCE. The duration of projects varies, but typically lasts within three years. Project activities are carried out by AmeriCorps VISTA members placed at project sites.

Core Principles
Projects must be developed in accordance with AmeriCorps VISTA’s core principles: an anti-poverty focus; community empowerment; sustainable solutions; and capacity building.

Anti-Poverty Focus
The statutory purpose of AmeriCorps VISTA is to strengthen and support efforts to eliminate and alleviate poverty and poverty-related problems in the United States.

The organizations supported with VISTA resources address poverty in many ways. Some projects address social determinants of health and well-being (e.g. improving education, neighborhood resilience, access to health care, and healthy food); other approaches are targeted directly at increasing a household’s income and assets (housing, financial savings, and asset development); and still other approaches attempt to address larger regional systemic barriers to community development.

All VISTA service activities must be designed to support one or more specific anti-poverty projects at a site. Applications must clearly define the anti-poverty initiative being created or enhanced as opposed to focusing solely on capacity building for the organization. The antipoverty initiative described in the Application Narrative must carry through to the Performance Measures and to the VISTA Assignment Description(s), created by approved sponsors as part of the recruitment process.