AmeriCorps VISTA Project coming to campus in fall
Released: May 5, 2008
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater prides itself on having a strong sense of community involvement. During the 2006-2007 school year, more than 4,300 students participated in more than 225 community service projects, logged nearly 20,000 volunteer hours and raised more than $39,000. Thanks to the AmeriCorps VISTA program, the university will be able to do even more for the community in the upcoming year.
VISTA stands for Volunteers In Service To America. AmeriCorps VISTA is a full-time, national, service program for people interested in developing lasting solutions that address problems of poverty in America. Thanks to the Wisconsin Campus Compact, a coalition committed to fulfilling the public purpose of higher education, UW-Whitewater will be joining a long list of schools chosen as a host site for the VISTA program.
UW-Whitewater’s Career and Leadership Development office will receive one VISTA member to help with its community outreach goals. This VISTA member will help connect the Career and Leadership Development office with community organizations, as well as help recruit volunteers for various service and service-learning projects.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to add depth to an existing community service program,” said Kim Clarksen, a leadership advisor in the Leadership Development department. “There are many ways in which we can take our community outreach to a greater level, and I look forward to working with a VISTA member committed to that endeavor.”
This project directly addresses the UW-Whitewater Strategic Plan to “create and cultivate meaningful relationships with members of the extended campus community.”
For more information visit http://www.americorps.org/.
- Kyle Kopplin,kopplinka01@uww.edu
