A*VISTA Member Forms Click Here!!
Mississippi
Volunteers In Service To America
(MDSC/A*VISTA )
P. O. Box 3134
1417 College Street
Cleveland , MS 38733
662-846-4332
mdscamericorpsvista@yahoo.com
Linda N. Stringfellow, Director
Beronica Wilder & Carlisla Johnson, Program Associates
AmeriCorps*VISTA is a national service program dedicated to eliminating poverty by helping individuals and low-income neighborhoods make positive changes for themselves. Through AmeriCorps*VISTA , ordinary people provide extraordinary service in more than 1,200 projects nationwide.
Mississippi Delta Service Corps/AmeriCorps*VISTA (MDSC/A*VISTA) was created in 2003 by Deborah G. Moore of Cleveland Mississippi Delta State University Cleveland , Mississippi VISTA program consists of three staff and thirty members who are assigned to non-profit agencies through-out the eleven counties of the Mississippi Delta region.
The mission of the MDSC/AmeriCorps*VISTA program is to Empower Individuals and Organizations with Skills and Knowledge Needed to Implement and Sustain Programs in Their Communities. VISTA members serve to create and expand opportunities for low income individuals and the organizations they serve, in one of the following areas: (1) financial asset development, (2) homeland security-health, (3) welfare to work, and (4) children and youth. Each project has a plan of long-term sustainability which includes collaborations with community residents, organizations and businesses in the community.
Summary of Accomplishments
While the Mississippi Delta Service Corps/AmeriCorps*VISTA program is a relatively young program, a significant impact has been made in the lives of community residents through our four projects.
Our financial asset development component, Project ASSETS (Acquiring Self Sustaining Economical TipS) has been able to reach more than one-hundred fifty low-income individuals. A financial planning curriculum has been developed and workshops are being held to educate the communities on financial planning and developing financial resources with a financial resource center having been established in one county.
The program’s homeland security-health component, Project WHOLE (Wellness and Health Outreach for the Low-income and Elderly) successes includes: (1) Sixty-one Community members have been recruited and trained to be community health outreach educators; (2) The Cleveland Abstinence Program (YAT) developed a plan to become the first abstinence program in the state of Mississippi; and (3) “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” being the major event for the year. 34 community volunteers serving 260 hours; 7 health care professionals serving 30 hours, and 6 community volunteers contributed a combined 15 hours to talk about their walk through life with their illness, contributed to the success of this now annual event. Sponsoring agencies and local and regional businesses donated more than $4,500 in materials, prizes, and goods. This event is now a part of the Delta’s annual fall health fair, “Delta Health and Wellness Day”.
Project MPACT (Mississippians Providing Adequate Career Training) is the program’s welfare-to-work component. Through the success of the project, our first volunteer center has been created in Bolivar County Washington County
Our children and youth component, Project GAP (Generations Advancing with Pride) has developed mentoring programs with two school districts, two community action agencies, and four community centers. The success of these mentoring programs has helped bridge the gap between youth ages 13-18 and adults ages 50 and older.
Since 2003, The MDSC/AmeriCorps*VISTA program has 58 volunteer service years completed with 51 VISTAs completing the program. 7 have returned for a second term of service, 20 have been hired by one of the program’s partnering agencies, and 24 have either furthered their education and/or accepted professional positions in the MS Delta.
The key component of the program's sustainability plan is in the services the VISTA members provide: building partnerships and collaborations with community businesses and agencies; coordinating training-of-trainer (TOT) workshops with community residents; locating funding opportunities for projects; recruiting volunteers from the community; and partnering with other volunteers from national service programs.
Each MDSC/AmeriCorps*VISTA member: (1) recruits, manages, and maintains community volunteers to assist with projects, and community service days (Make A Difference Day, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, and National Volunteer Day);
(2) researches and develops funding resources to ensure project sustainability; (3) builds partnerships with local agencies, both public and private, for profit and non-profit, to assist with recruiting volunteers, serving on project committees, and project(s) sponsorship; (4) produces outreach materials for volunteer community educator's recruitment; (5) recruits volunteers in the community to participate in the marketing and recruiting of the program; (6) recruits participants from the low-income communities who will benefit from the services of the projects; (7) coordinates, organizes, and develops needed curriculums, activities, events, programs, and other needed projects to ensure the success of the goals of the MDSC/AmeriCorps*VISTA, and the Corporation for National & Community Service; (8) assists in the mobilization of community resources; (9) builds partnerships with agencies and assists in the transference of skills to community residents; and (10) serves as a bridge with the expansion of the capacity of community-based organizations to solve problems that encourage permanent, long-term solutions to problems confronting the Mississippi Delta.
For the 2006-2007 service year, 4,125 community members have been recruited and trained to assist with the VISTA projects and have served a total of 26,365.25 hours. Based on the value of service from the Economic Report of the President, at $18.04 per hour, these volunteers gave $475,629.11 of their time to local communities, benefiting over 9,000 people. VISTA members have solicited over $177,617.14 dollars of in-kind and donated goods and serves this service year.
You can apply online at www.americorps.org
Under the section “For Individuals”
Click I’m Ready to Serve
"Building and Empowering Relationships that Strengthen Communities"