AmeriCorps VISTA
AmeriCorps VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America) spend one-year helping build capacity in local organizations. Individuals serving in a VISTA position receive a living allowance as well an educational award at the end of their program. You can find more information on being a VISTA here.
Ginsberg Center
The Ginsberg Center is University of Michigan department that cultivates and steward mutually beneficial partnerships between communities and the University of Michigan in order to advance the public good. We focus on developing and stewarding long-term relationships with community organizations, in order to support them in building capacity.
University of Michigan Ginsberg Center VISTA Position Description
The Ginsberg Center VISTA position will be focused on supporting two distinct initiatives: The Michigan Community Service Commission’s (MCSC) statewide efforts in youth focused capacity building and local Washtenaw County efforts in volunteerism.
MSCS has the following project goals: 1) Develop mechanisms for youth, parents, and youth serving organizations to access resources that enhance the skill sets of youth and assist them with being successful in school and/or work. 2) Assist with developing solutions to decrease the opportunity gaps faced by youth and in particular young men and women of color. These goals will be accomplished through objectives that include: asset and resource coordination; recruiting and engaging volunteers; establishing a youth voice in the communities; promoting easier access to work and career opportunities. Michigan Community Service Commission utilizes service as a strategy to address the state's most pressing issues and empowers volunteers to strengthen communities.
In Washtenaw County, the VISTA will focus on building the expansion, enhancement and maintenance of a volunteer collaborative made up of the Ginsberg Center, United Way of Washtenaw County (UWWC) and Eastern Michigan University’s VISION Volunteer Center. One of the major components of this collaborative work is a volunteer portal that aims to provide a single entry point for community partners to enter their needs for volunteer support. The VISTA position would build the capacity for and marketing around this shared volunteer portal, with a particular emphasis on college student engagement. Some of the main projects would include working with Ginsberg, VISION and UWWC to update and maintain current opportunities in the portal, better understand how the system is being utilized by all stakeholders and raise awareness about and utilization of this portal with both community and campus users.
The position will start on September 4, 2018 and run through August 19, 2019. The VISTA will be primarily working from the Ginsberg Center (1024 Hill St., Ann Arbor) with some time spent at both EMU and UWWC.
To Apply
Please, send a cover letter and resume outlining your interest and skills to Sara Saylor, Ginsberg Center’s Assistant Director for Community Engagement, at [email protected] by 5pm, August 3rd.