VISTA positions, Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger

Posted by on April 28, 2006

Americorp VISTA Positions
Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger

Unique Philadelphia agency offers opportunity to fight hunger in an informed campaign–alongside local soup kitchens and food cupboards as advocates for change.

The Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger?s mission is to fight hunger through education, outreach, and advocacy. We support and empower largely urban emergency food programs while advocating for policies that would help to eliminate hunger altogether. We therefore offer a unique opportunity to work at the grassroots level to address system-wide hunger issues.

The Coalition sponsors the Food Stamp Enrollment Campaign that trains volunteers to help low-income clients determine their food stamp eligibility and assist them in the application process. Here our service is informing our advoacy. We also sponsor large annual events, such as the World Food Day celebration in October and the Walk Against Hunger in April, a public awareness and grassroots empowerment event that draws over 3,000 participants (see <a href="http://www.hungerwalk.org">http://www.hungerwalk.org</a> for more details). Every month, we hold a First Tuesday roundtable open to all emergency feeding programs to facilitate skill-development and resource-sharing.

These programs and much more are cranked out of a small close-knit office convenient to public transportation. VISTA volunteers will be involved in all aforementioned programs with many opportunities for new projects, creativity, and skill-development. Experience with anti-hunger work is not as necessary as a self-starting attitude and the willingness to dive in.

Two positions are available: PR Associate and Food Stamp Advocate. The PR Associate will work closely with low-income community groups and charitable feeding programs in a variety of capacities, and the Food Stamp Advocate will be involved largely in the Food Stamp Enrollment Campaign. In both positions, the VISTA will have the valuable opportunity to meet local community members, understand the reality of hunger on the ground, and implement their own ideas to affect change. Both positions start at the end of July.

PR Associate: This VISTA will be involved in event-planning and public relations. He/she will engage feeding programs by helping to run First Tuesday as well as organize/expand World Food Day and the Walk Against Hunger. He/she will spearhead an initiative to network feeding programs in order to streamline their food assistance and thereby lighten the burden on the individual program while including it in a larger cause that helps the hungry more efficiently. In so doing, the VISTA will help empower each feeding program and enable it to increase its capacity.

Food Stamp Advocate: This VISTA will assist with ongoing work in the Food Stamp Enrollment Campaign. He/she will have the opportunity to learn food stamp rules and procedures, with the goal of supervising and assisting student volunteers in client advocacy. This VISTA will work with Coalition volunteers and staff to improve the quality of experience that food stamp clients have at local County Assistance Offices.

For more information contact:
Tanya Sen, Program Manager
tsen@hungercoalition.org
Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger
2901 W. Hunting Park Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19129