Celebrating 50 Years of Americorps VISTA

This year AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Often described as a domestic version of the Peace Corps, the VISTA program has engaged thousands of citizens in the fight against poverty since the first volunteers began service in 1965. To honor the occasion, VISTAs past and present gathered in Greensboro, North Carolina on June 20th for a day of service, reflection, and fellowship.

Over 60 people came to the Lifespan Creative Campus for the celebration. Lifespan is a nonprofit organization that provides education, employment, and enrichment opportunities to empower children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live, work and play in their communities.

VISTA alumni and members whose service spanned the 1960s to the present day worked  together at the Lifespan Creative Campus. The campus includes a garden, walking paths, and gazebo for Lifespan clients to enjoy. Participants in the service painted garden picnic tables, weeded the walkway, and cleaned the gazebo area.

The service project was followed by a luncheon and remarks from VISTAs past and present. The keynote speaker, Joseph Bathanti, served as VISTA in Charlotte, NC from 1976-1977. Bathanti worked with prison inmates, teaching writing, developing relationships, and ensuring that prisoners would be successful after their release.

Mr. Bathanti's experience as a VISTA heavily influenced his personal and creative life. He met his wife Joan, a fellow VISTA, working the same project, and joked that he likes "to tell people I met my wife in prison." A Pittsburgh native, Bathanti went on to become North Carolina Poet Laureate; he now teaches creative writing at Appalachian State University. Mr. Bathathi read poems from a collection titled "Concertina," a reference to the swirling wire that tops prison fences. His reflections on service reminded us why VISTA is such powerful and transformative experience. 

Mr. Bathanti's remarks were followed by VISTA alumnus K'aia Clarke who served with MDC in Durham from 2012-2014 and current VISTA member Leah Parks who serves at the Lifespan Creative Campus. Together the speakers made a strong case for the value of national service, not just for its cost-effective impact in communities but also for the opportunity these assignments provide to the individuals who accept them. Nationwide coalitions like Service Nation and the Franklin Project are working to preserve AmeriCorps VISTA and other service programs in the face of recent efforts to reduce or eliminate these programs.

Among the VISTA projects participating in the event were current and former members and staff from NC Campus Compact, Peacehaven Farm, Welfare Reform Liaison Project, Fayetteville State University's Office of College Access, and the Collaborative.

The day was organized by the NC state office of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

North Carolina Celebrates VISTA's 50th Anniversary!

The Corporation for National and Community Service North Carolina State Office, in partnership with VISTA programs and alumni, invite you to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of AmeriCorps VISTA!

Date: Saturday, June 20, 2015

Location: LIFESPAN Creative Campus

908 McClellan Place, Greensboro, NC 27409

Time: 11:00 am- 2:30 pm

Join VISTA Alums, currently serving VISTA Members, VISTA supporters, and friends to celebrate the impact that the program has had in the state for the last 50 years. This will be a celebratory event highlighting projects both past and present. There will be an opportunity to participate in a service project, connect with current and past VISTAs, and remarks by distinguished VISTA alums from over the decades! 



We are pleased to announce Joseph Bathanti, North Carolina Poet Laureate 2012-2014, as our keynote speaker. Mr. Bathanti came to North Carolina in 1976 to serve as a VISTA volunteer. As a VISTA Mr. Bathanti worked with prison inmates. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, he has BA & MA degrees in English Literature from the University of  Pittsburgh, as well as an MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College.Professor of Creative Writing at Appalachian State University, he is also Writer-in-Residence and Director of Writing in the Field for the University’s Watauga Residential College.





There is no cost to attend this event.

REGISTER NOW!

Please note that registration closed Monday, June 15th. If you are interested in attending please contact Catherine Casteel at ccasteel@elon.edu

The day at a glance:

11:00 am to 12:30 pm: Service Project (wear comfortable clothes and shoes)
12:30 pm to 1:30 pm: Lunch and Networking
1:30 pm to 2:30: Remarks by Keynote Speaker, Joseph Bathanti, and Distinguished Alums

Stay tuned for more details regarding service projects and speakers!

Directions to Lifespan Creative Campus.

To learn about other events throughout the country, please visit the VISTA 50th Anniversary Website.

Please contact for questions regarding:
Registration: Catherine Casteel at ccasteel(@)elon.edu
Service Project and Location of Event: Leah Parks at lparks(@)lifespanservices.org

"I am honored to celebrate this milestone with you, in part because I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for the service of others. Or the purpose that service gave my own life...Happy Birthday AmeriCorps VISTA!"- President Barack Obama (See full message below)

NC Mayors recognize importance of National Service

April 1st marked the second annual Mayor's Day of Recognition for National Service. Nationwide 1,760 mayors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico united in support of national service. Thirty North Carolina mayors participated, which is a large increase from last year. A full list can be found here. Together, these mayors represent more than 110 million Americans, or one-third of the U.S. population. These mayors carried a common message: National Service Works for America. We at North Carolina Campus Compact were honored to participate in several of these events alongside such a diverse and vibrant group of AmeriCorps programs.

Dr. Lisa Keyne, Executive Director of NC Campus Compact, joined the Honorable U.S. Congressman David Price, Burlington Mayor Ronnie Wall; Gibsonville Mayor Len Williams; and Mr. Frank DiSilvestro, State Program Specialist with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), to recognize the commitment to service of the Alamance County RSVP Volunteers and local AmeriCorps members. The celebration was held in conjunction with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the newly renovated Crump Village Education Resource Center, a community center that will provide educational space for residents of the Burlington Housing Authority as well as the broader community. BHA is also a key community partner of Elon University, and many Elon students support youth programming at Crump Village.

VISTA Camille Smith with a
signed proclamation of support
from Mayor MacFarlane

VISTA Jacob Lerner participated in an event in Chapel Hill with Mayor Mark Kleinshmidt and members of the NC Literacy Corps. VISTA Camille Smith participated in an event in Raleigh with Mayor Nancy MacFarlane. VISTA Anna Donze participated in an event in Winston-Salem with Mayor Allen Joines, and VISTAs Bevelyn Ukah, Devin Corrigan, and Carla Davis participated in an event in Greensboro with Mayor Nancy Vaughn. Each Mayor issued a proclamation of support to National Service and spoke of the importance of AmeriCorps initiatives happening throughout the city, and in many cases, throughout the State. VISTA Leader Carla Davis recounts her Greensboro event experience: "The feeling of community in the room was palpable as AmeriCorps members shared their service experiences and projects."

VISTA Anna Donze with other
AmeriCorps members & Mayor Joines

North Carolina Campus Compact is dedicated to leveraging higher education resources to support community organizations, and to create well-rounded programs that address K-12 education, hunger and homelessness, and food security. And we, with other AmeriCorps organizations, are working toward a common goal for North Carolina: to enhance the quality of life for its citizens. Currently the Opportunity Index ranks North Carolina 37th in the nation, but when we can align with local government, the speed at which this this goal can become a reality increases.

Thank you to all of our North Carolina Mayors for recognizing the work that North Carolina Campus Compact and each of our VISTAs is doing to mobilize college student volunteers, create partnerships with non-profits, and fight poverty. The Corporation for National and Community Service annually engages more than five million people in service at more than 60,000 locations in 8,500 cities across the country through AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and other sponsored programs, and we are glad to be even a small part of those numbers.

Check out our Twitter feed for more Mayors Day pics and tweets @NCCampusCompact. 

Campus Compact VISTAs Mobilize Communities in Honor of MLK

This Monday, January 20th, marked the 21st annual holiday celebrating one of America's greatest role models, Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King not only fought for racial equality, but also strove against wealth inequality, and believed in the power of education and access to education to create a more just society.

For months, North Carolina Campus Compact VISTAs have been planning to launch various MLK Day projects state-wide, not only as one time events, but as platforms to increase volunteer engagement in their local communities in the long-term. This week we want to highlight projects supported by our VISTAs. Collectively, our VISTAs mobilized over 1200 volunteers who served over 2700 hours, all in ONE day!

VISTA Devin Corrigan stationed at the UNC Greensboro Office of Leadership and Service-Learning headed up the large UNCG contingent of volunteers in collaboration with Bennett College and Greensboro College. Our own VISTA Leader Carla Davis joined the group to serve.

UNCP volunteers register for MLK day

VISTA Dalton Hoffer with UNC Pembroke's Office for Community and Civic Engagement organized various volunteer opportunities throughout Robeson County. Over 200 volunteers worked at 10 community partner sites on 13 projects. Projects ranged from feeding 100 people at a soup kitchen, making 140 food bags for BART (Borderbelt AIDS Resource Team) clients, hosting 11 kids at a reading party, building a ramp for an elderly woman, cleaning local churches, and making 156 hygiene bags for clients for the Rape Crisis Center to name a few. Our own Associate Director (and MLK Day grants coordinator) Leslie Garvin pitched in at Pembroke.

VISTA Shifra Sered in East Carolina University's Volunteer and Service-Learning Center organized five different project sites in the City of Greenville. Exactly 100 volunteers showed up in all and worked 250 hours at 8 different community sites.

HPU students pack food bags

VISTA Anna Mahathey with High Point University's Service-Learning Program organized thirty-five volunteer opportunities for HPU students and community members throughout the City of High Point. Approximately 400 volunteers showed their servant hearts in High Point, collectively serving 1690 hours at 13 different community sites. Volunteers worked with 25 children at the Read-in/Field Day event, and 60 children at the Zumba-thon, where volunteers also made 33 blankets for the elderly in the community. Volunteers also cleaned a mile of roadways, cleaned and beautified 40 feet of median, prepared, packaged, and distributed 360 meals to a local homeless shelter, and packaged 20,000 meals with the help of Stop Hunger Now. VISTA Program Coordinator Chad Fogleman also stopped by to serve. See the HPU volunteers on the news here.

VISTA Camille Smith with the Raleigh College Center (RCC) at the Chavis Heights Community Center worked with their Raleigh Fellows through RCC's Raleigh Promise program to put on a two-week clothing drive ending January 21st with a fashion show. Volunteers helped sort the clothes and modeled them at the finale fashion show.

VISTA Takira Dale with Duke University's Community Service Center gathered volunteers from Duke, Durham Technical Community College, and North Carolina Central University and teamed up with Million Meals Packaging Program. A total of 300 volunteers showed up and together packaged 100,000 meals! Read about it in the Herald Sun!

VISTA Anna Donze with Wake Forest University's Office of Service and Social Action organized a campus wide Read-In promoting literacy and volunteerism, where over 150 volunteers showed up. Anna worked with several organizations, one of which was El Buen Pastor, with which she works on a regular basis to coordinate WFU student volunteers.

ASU volunteers lend a hand

VISTA Brittany Johnson with Hospitality House of Boone organized a group of nine students to repair an old house that the Organization will be able to sell for additional revenue. After making repairs, Brittany led the students through a reflection on their day of service, and, having extra time, cleared space in the attic so that Hospitality House can start accepting clothing donations for their soon-to-be Thrift Store. The volunteers also went out into the community to collect needed items for the Thrift Store.

VISTA Jess-Mara Jordan in UNC Asheville's Key Center for Community Citizenship and Service Learning organized 8 different project sites for volunteers.

VISTA Christina D'Aulerio with Queens University of Charlotte's Center for Active Citizenship teamed up with the local nonprofit, Right Moves for Youth to host various volunteer opportunities throughout the City of Charlotte.
VISTA Willie Jones with Western Carolina University's Center for Service Learning helped put together various volunteer opportunities for WCU students, and will host another day of service on January 25th!

VISTA Ariel Mitchell with Lenoir-Rhyne University's Community Service Office organized a group of 12 volunteers to head over to the Hickory Soup Kitchen, where they made 100 food bags, 253 treat bags, and 46 one-gallon bags of dog food. The Hickory Soup Kitchen serves approximately 250 individuals a day and served 80,000 plates of food in 2013.

Feast Down East VISTAs organized building of raised beds.

VISTAs Erin O’Donnell & Melissa Rogan with Feast Down East worked with volunteers to give Wilmington's LINC Urban Farm some TLC. Thirty-six volunteers worked a total of 141 hours to build 54 4'x4' raised beds, and clear space for the beds to be placed. Timothy White of Food Corps said of the event, "not enough can be said about the fantastic partnership that made this all happen. The organizing efforts of FoodCorps, AmeriCorpsVISTA, Cape Fear Crop Mob and Feast Down East truly show that many hands make light work."

This cohort of NC Campus Compact VISTAs are part of a tradition of Campus Compact VISTAs leading MLK Day projects. You can read about our 2012-2013 VISTAs' MLK Day projects here and here.

Our VISTAs have done an outstanding job of collectively mobilizing over one-thousand volunteers for a single day of service. More amazing though, is the work that each of our VISTAs does to build the capacity of their community organizations and universities to better work together to serve the community.  Martin Luther King Jr. "refused to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation", just as our VISTAs refuse to believe it. And so these emerging leaders continue Dr. King's legacy and vision, knowing all too well that "we cannot walk alone."

NC Mayors recognize importance of National Service

On April 9, fourteen North Carolina mayors affirmed the value of AmeriCorps in their cities by taking part in the first-ever Mayor's Day of Recognition for National Service. Led by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Corporation for National and Community Service, the day of recognition is a chance to highlight the solution-oriented contributions national service members make every day.

The fourteen North Carolina mayors join over 800 mayors from across the country. NC Campus Compact VISTAs are supporting projects in several of these North Carolina cities, and we would like to thank these mayors for recognizing the value of national service:


Mayor Terry Bellamy, Asheville

Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, Chapel Hill

Mayor Anthony Foxx, Charlotte
Mayor William "Bill" V. Bell, Durham

Mayor Alfonzo King, Goldsboro

Mayor Michael R. Brown, Grand Forks

Mayor Benita Sims, High Point

Mayor BJ Murphy, Kinston

Mayor Joseph Gibbons, City of Lenoir

Mayor Ray Pennington, Lumberton

Mayor Miles Atkins, Mooresville

Mayor Nancy McFarlane, Raleigh

Mayor Bill Saffo, Wilmington        

Mayor Allen Joines, Winston-Salem

Several NC Campus Compact VISTAs are participating in events, including those in Charlotte and Raleigh. VISTAs Pam Pate and Christina D'Aulerio, of UNC-C and Queens University of Charllote respectively, joined fellow AmeriCorps members and representatives from nonprofits across the city at city hall to be recognized by Mayor Anthony Foxx. Jennifer Evans, Wake Tech Community College VISTA, was part of a group recognized for their service by Mayor Nancy McFarlane of Raleigh, featured in the photo. 

 NC Campus Compact is proud of the role our VISTA members play in mobilizing college student volunteers, creating partnerships with local non-profits, and improving life for citizens in these and all the communities our projects serve.

Thank you, Mayors and thank you, VISTAs!

NC Campus Compact VISTA Alum at White House event!

On August 17, the White House welcomed Katharine Baas and more than 150 AmeriCorps Alumni leaders from 25 states. Katharine is a proud alum of the NC Campus Compact VISTA program! She served 2 VISTA terms with Elon University's Kernodle Center for Service-Learning from 2007-2009. 

In the video above at 30:27, Katharine shares a story of one of her proudest AmeriCorps moments: coordinating Elon's first MLK Day of Service that brought together students, faculty, staff and community members.

The White House event included breakout sessions for AmeriCorps Alums to share their stories with leading officials including Wendy Spencer, chief executive officer, Corporation for National and Community Service;  Bill Basl, director, AmeriCorps; Jon Carson, director, White House Office of Public Engagement; Jonathan Greenblatt, director, White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation; and Mayor John Fetterman of Braddock, PA.

Katharine Baas shares her AmeriCorps story with Wendy Spencer, CEO of CNCS.

 "I came in not knowing what to expect and left with a view that I was part of something bigger,” Katharine says of her AmeriCorps experience. “As I look back, I know I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am without AmeriCorps. As an AmeriCorps Alums member, I continue to serve in my community, and my national service experience has benefited my career goals."

A native of Hillsborough, North Carolina, Katharine has built a career in service. She is currently a Senior Admissions Manager with CityYear Miami and served in AmeriCorps with North Carolina Campus Compact at Elon University’s Kernodle Center for Service Learning from 2007-2009 and City Year Miami from 2009-2010. These experiences ignited a passion for student development through experiential learning. Katharine continues as an AmeriCorps Alums leader, encouraging others to look towards service as a pathway to jump-starting their careers by finding an AmeriCorps program they are passionate about.

Since 1994, more than 775,000 Americans have served in AmeriCorps, a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service.  More than 80,000 will serve this year, including the 22 VISTAs of NC Campus Compact's 2012-13 cohort.