Pennsylvania Campus Compact VISTAs available to campuses

Posted by on October 22, 2012

In partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), Pennsylvania Campus Compact (PACC) is pleased to announce the availability of up to thirty (30) AmeriCorps*VISTA awards to our member institutions for the 2013-2014 academic year.  In exchange for a full-time PACC AmeriCorps*VISTA, host sites are required to be members of PA Campus Compact and pay a program fee of $5,000.00.

PA Campus Compact is accepting host site project applications now through Monday, December 3, 2013 at 12 noon.  Please review the information below for program guidance and to download the full application.

The purpose of the AmeriCorps*VISTA program is to enable organizations and low-income communities to expand their capacity to solve their own problems related to the root causes of poverty. PACC*VISTA projects should be developed around a three-year timeline for completion that builds community capacity and ultimately leads to a project that is self-sustaining at the end of that period.

The project and PACC*VISTA member’s work must explicitly address the following program goals:

1.       To develop or enhance campus-community efforts to address one of the identified project focus areas;
2.       To create, develop, or sustain reciprocal, mutually beneficial partnerships between the campus and community organizations, leaders, and members;
3.       To foster PACC*VISTA members as professionals and emerging leaders in the fields of community development, civic engagement, and/or higher education.

For the 2013-2014 program year, PACC*VISTA members will be assigned to member campuses with projects in the one of the following areas:

1.       EDUCATION: Improving academic achievement of at-risk K-12 students
2.       EDUCATION: Increasing college access of at-risk high school students
3.       HEALTHY FUTURES:  Increasing Food Access for low-income families
4.       HEALTHY FUTURES:  Increasing Access to Health Care for low-income families
5.       ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: Increasing Employment Access for unemployed or under-employed individuals
6.       ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: Increasing Financial Literacy for low-income families
7.       ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: Increasing Housing Access for low-income families

If your campus would like to host a PACC*VISTA member, please review the supplementary documents and complete the application, outlined with links below.  Materials and full application may also be downloaded from: http://www.paccompact.org/applyforvistahostsiteproject

Supplementary Documents:

• Program Overview and Requirements
• Program Models
• Host Site Application Toolkit

Application:
To submit the application, please complete and send all required documents as one (1) .pdf document—with your institution’s name as the title— via email to acprice@paccompact.org.  Additionally, please send Part C: Host Site Application Concept Paper as a separate .pdf document.  Note:  This may involve scanning and combining of documents. Applications are due Monday, December 3, 2012 Friday, December 7, 2012 by 12 noon.

Please note that the following documents are all linked on the PA Campus Compact website at http://www.paccompact.org/applyforvistahostsiteproject

1. Cover Sheet
2. Part A: Sections I-V
3. Part B: Logic Model, VISTA Assignment Description, & Performance Measures (Specific to each area)
3a. Part B – EDUCATION: Improving academic achievement of at-risk K-12 students
3b. Part B – EDUCATION: Increasing college access of at-risk high school students
3c. Part B – HEALTHY FUTURES: Increasing Food Access for low-income families
3d. Part B – HEALTHY FUTURES: Increasing Access to Health Care for low-income families
3e. Part B – ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: Increasing Employment Access for unemployed or under-employed individuals
3f. Part B – ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: Increasing Financial Literacy for low-income families
3g. Part B – ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: Increasing Housing Access for low-income families
4. Part C: Host Site Application Concept Paper
5. Commitment of Financial Support
6. Letter of Support from College/University President (Created by President)
7. Letter(s) of Support from at least one community partner (Created by community partner)
8. Resume of supervisor (Created by supervisor)

Technical Assistance Conference Calls:
Contact Amy Carraux Price by email (acprice@paccompact.org) for call-in details and supporting documents.

General VISTA Application Technical Assistance Conference Call

Thursday, October 18, 2012; 8:30am – 9:30am  OR Tuesday, October 23, 2012; 1pm – 2pm

Economic Opportunity VISTA Application Technical Assistance Conference Call

Thursday, October 24, 2012; 1pm – 2pm OR Friday, October 25, 2012; 9am – 10am

These are competitive awards and will be granted based upon the quality of the project and its alignment with the mission of AmeriCorps*VISTA and the goals of the PACC*VISTA program.

For additional details, please contact Amy Carraux Price, PACC Program Manager, by email at
acprice@paccompact.org by telephone at 717-796-5072 ext. 3.