Campus Compact VISTA members serve at colleges, universities, and community organizations across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Illinois, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. Our sites include public and private, as well as two and four year institutions. Campus Compact VISTAs build capacity for sites to improve educational outcomes for low-income students.

You can view our host sites and open positions for 2019-2020 here.

VISTA builds upon the ability of sponsor organizations to fight poverty through education. Rather than providing services directly to low-income individuals and communities, VISTAs strengthen and support organizations by building infrastructure, expanding community partnerships, and securing long-term resources.

Capacity building is a term used to describe the process by which VISTAs work with staff and communities to create, expand, or strengthen the systems and processes that help an organization carry out its anti-poverty work. These tasks and activities can include recruiting volunteers, developing databases, and establishing parternships in the community.

Direct service refers to activities that immediately address an individual’s needs (i.e.tutoring, delivering a meal, managing a group of volunteers).

While someone performing direct service might tutor middle school students in math, a VISTA performing indirect service might recruit tutors or develop a relationship between the middle school and a college to make the program happen.

Approximately 70 volunteers serve as Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTAs. The corps regularly comes together for trainings, residential retreats and social outings, and engages in resource sharing and networking throughout the year. 

VISTAs may apply to any position(s) that they are interested in, in any region(s) they choose.

VISTA members serve for one year (12 months).  Members can (and often do!) sign on for an additional year(s) of service, up to three VISTA terms.

The 2019-2020 Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA program will begin mid-summer 2019. 

Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA members receive a living allowance that is paid out bi-weekly by Campus Compact. VISTAs are also eligible for student loan forbearance for qualified federally backed loans, health coverage (click here for more info), a relocation allowance (if moving more than 50 miles), as well as a $6,095 Educational Award or $1,800 cash stipend upon completion of service. For more information regarding benefits, click here.

Yes, you can hold part time employment as long as it does not interfere with your VISTA work and is not directly affiliated with your partnership. To learn more about the policy, click here.

In order to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA you must have the equivalent of a degree from a two or four-year institution. As with our Outside Employment Policy, VISTAs can be in school part-time as long as it does not interfere with their VISTA work.

Campus Compact VISTA has plenty of resources to help new members adjust to living in a new area.  We can provide you resources around finding affordable housing and accessing public resources in your state. We also have an extensive alumni network that loves to welcome new VISTAs to the neighborhood, and can connect you with other incoming Campus Compact VISTA members if you are looking for roommates.  Talk to the VISTA Leaders [ccsnevista@compact.org or ilccvista@compact.org] to find out more about these options.

The necessity of a car is dictated by the level of public transportation in the area and your ability to access your host site and/or community partner effectively.

Each year, the VISTA Leaders and Program Director work together to create a training curriculum that suits the needs of members.  Members frequently recommend training topics and facilitate workshops in areas of expertise. In the past, trainings have included:

• Grant Writing, Partnership Development
• Diversity Training and Social Justice Education
• Evaluation and Impact Assessment
• Sustainability Strategies
• Recruitment and Retention Practices
• Service Learning Development
• Team-Building
• Asset-Based Community Development
• Community Organizing
• College Access
• Data Collection
• Introduction to the Education System

Members go on to a variety of post-service opportunities, while others choose to stay on for a second (or third!) year of service.  Past members have moved onto:

• Service-Learning Director, University of New Haven
• Director of Research and Instruction, Stanford University
• Director of Individual Giving, United Cerebral Palsy
• Specialist in Social Policy, Congressional Research Service
• Volunteer Coordinator, Hanover Habitat for Humanity
• Graduate Study in: Law, Public Policy, Medicine, Urban Planning, Education, American Studies, Higher Education Administration, Student Affairs, Social Work, Non-Profit Management, Social Psychology

For more information about:

AmeriCorps: visit https://www.nationalservice.gov/

AmeriCorps VISTA: visit https://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorpsvista

Campus Compact VISTA: visit our “About” page