VISTA positions, Teaming for Technology

Posted by on June 18, 2004

Teaming for Technology at United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania in Philadelphia is looking for new recruits, and we’d be very excited to consider you for a position with our Team! As a T4T VISTA, diverse technical skills and interest in helping the non-profit community may be just what you’re looking for.

Right now, we have three positions available to begin in August 2004.

1.) We’re looking for an Equipment Coordinator who facilitates equipment distribution among agencies.

2.) We’re also looking for a Training Assistant Coordinator/Teen Technology Network Assistant Coordinator who will spend half of his/her time assisting the Training Consultant in securing instructors, students, and training space, and the other half of his/her time assisting the lead instructor in an after-school program that works with high school students and technology.

3.) Finally, we’re looking for an Assessment/Implementation Assistant Coordinator who will primarily be responsible for technology assessments and tech support for T4T’s member agencies.

Experience or interest in applying technology to everyday situations in creative ways is a resounding plus for any candidate.

The official words about our program:

Teaming for Technology is a collaborative project of the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, IBM, and the Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps*VISTA). Our program aims to assist non-profits and the communities they serve in maximizing their technology in the Philadelphia and Southeastern Pennsylvania area by offering complete technological solutions. Agencies we serve in the human service sector are non-profits that provide services that include after-school programs, job training, health care, child care, counseling, and much more. These non-profits represent a constituency of varied age, gender, ethnicity, education, nationality, and location which are all affected by lack of access to technology and tech support. Using technology, our Team empowers partner agencies with the knowledge, resources, and processes to sustain their work and reach their goals.

How you can help us:

Teaming for Technology is staffed entirely by a team of 4 full-time staff and one AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer. We travel throughout Philadelphia and the surrounding counties offering technology consulting to organizations that are making a difference in their communities. In short, we help the people that help communities by doing both technical work (designing websites, assessing database options, setting up networks and labs with the super-charged brand new computers donated by IBM, and much more) and project management (matching volunteers and interns from local colleges and universities, partnering with national organizations, and more).

Interested but not sure if you fit the description? For more information
about available positions and the program please contact Lorelei Narvaja at (215) 665-2427 or lorelein@uwsepa.org and Corey Stevens at (215) 665-2566 or coreys@uwsepa.org.

Here’s what makes us different from other AmeriCorps programs:

This program can offer you opportunities to take on projects and responsibilities that are hard to find in the entering ranks of any other field, giving you a chance to build a diverse repertoire of skills. Staff roles are flexible, and as a result, Team members can seek out and take on challenging projects within the program that matter to them.

Teaming for Technology has been an AmeriCorps*VISTA program since 1997 and has been nationally recognized and respected as one of its most successful projects. As an AmeriCorps*VISTA project (VISTA stands for Volunteers In Service To America), we focus on indirect service. By strengthening the institutions and leaders in communities, we can affect more change than by only working directly with just one community. If you are selected to work as a member of Teaming for Technology, you’ll work in a dynamic city independently and as part of a supportive team to make a difference in the resources available to some amazing organizations.

In addition to the benefits available through all AmeriCorps*VISTA projects, which include health care and childcare benefits, forbearance or deferment on federal student loans, and the choice of a $4,725 educational award or $1,200 cash stipend at the end of the year of service, Teaming for Technology also provides the additional benefit of a free monthly public transit pass, valid for transportation on all public buses and trains.

To apply, either submit an official AmeriCorps application (<a href="http://www.americorps.org">http://www.americorps.org</a>) to Teaming for Technology/United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania in Philadelphia or fax it to us at (215) 665-2531. We’d be thrilled to read your application and consider you for a place on our Team!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the program, the positions or the application process.