Through the Recovery Act, Montana will receive up to an additional 43 full time AmeriCorps*VISTA members

Through the Recovery Act, Montana will receive an additional 43 full-time AmeriCorps*VISTA members. Our goal is to place these 43 additional members along with 60 already planned members in non-profit organizations and public agencies by no later than July 2009. This is all very exciting, it will be the first time in Montana’s history that we have attempted to place over 100 VISTA members at one time.

AmeriCorps*VISTA is the national service program designed to fight poverty and build economic opportunity. VISTA engages individuals 18 years and older in a year of full-time service in some of our nation’s poorest urban and rural areas, working to build the organizational, administrative and financial capacity of programs that help pull and keep Americans out of poverty.

VISTAs are assigned to non profit community organizations and public agencies to help the organizations build on locally-driven solutions to poverty and poverty related problems.

The specific objectives of the VISTA program, as outlined in the Domestic Volunteer Service Act are:

* To strengthen local agencies and organizations to carry out their programs;

* To encourage volunteer service at the local level; and

* To generate the commitment of private sector resources.

VISTAs funded through the Recovery Act will augment the ongoing work of the program through activities such as fundraising, establishment of volunteer recruitment and management systems, community outreach and partnership development. These activities will help non profit organizations and other community agencies to build their capacity and to be sustainable as they work to increase economic opportunity for Americans living in poverty or who are in danger of falling into poverty.

For the overall Recovery Act, we are prioritizing new VISTA Site development that falls under these program areas:

· Job creation, particularly green jobs, job re-training, employment assistance, access to benefits for the unemployed; including veteran support in all of these areas;

· Home foreclosure prevention, home loss assistance;

· Weatherization for low-income households;

· Access to health care for the unemployed;

· Financial literacy, access to banking;

· Connecting rural households to broadband access; and

· Other activities that will support economic recovery

Non-Profits or public agencies with questions or that are interested in applying for AmeriCorps*VISTA resources should e-mail Jackie Girard or Amy Busch at the Corporation for National and Community Service at [email protected] or call 406.449.5404 by no later than March 25th, 2009.

If you know of someone who would like to apply to become an AmeriCorps*VISTA Member please have them go to http://www.americorps.gov/for_individuals/overview/index.asp

Jackie Girard

Montana State Program Director

Corporation for National and Community Service

208 North Montana – Suite 206

Helena, MT 59601

Telephone: 406.449.5404

Fax: 406.449.5412

E-mail: [email protected]