Forty years, and some 150,000 volunteers later, VISTA, which merged with the newly created AmeriCorps in 1993, is still combating poverty



Forty years, and some 150,000 volunteers later, VISTA, which merged with the newly created AmeriCorps in 1993, is still combating poverty

Reaching Out

By: Mary Bulkot

March 09, 2005

As part of his "War on Poverty," President Lyndon Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act in 1964, simultaneously creating VISTA and fulfilling President John F. Kennedy's vision of a domestic volunteer program modeled after the Peace Corps.

Forty years, and some 150,000 volunteers later, VISTA, which merged with the newly created AmeriCorps in 1993, is still combating poverty. Depending on your perspective, this is both good and bad news for Ithaca and other communities across the U.S.

Since the summer of 2001, when the United Way of Tompkins County extended an invitation to its member organizations to apply for a grant under the AmeriCorps*VISTA Rural Service Fellowship Program, nine organizations have worked closely to identify the needs and provide health and human services to rural, low-income residents in Tompkins County.

"In addition to the great energy the VISTAs have infused into our community, they have brought tangible results.... During the past five quarters, the VISTAs combined brought $14,543.00 through grants and fund raising efforts, recruited 122 community volunteers, conducted 293 outreach sessions and saved non-profits $75,233.00 in-kind donations," AmeriCorps*VISTA Leader Lois Kang reported.

Rural low-income communities have been a continuing concern for the human service community, Kang noted. Although almost 90 percent of social service agencies are housed in the City of Ithaca, more than half of county residents live in rural areas. Many low-income families and individuals living in the rural outlying communities face barriers in accessing services, but the VISTA Program is working to close that gap.

"It's a big issue, period," Kang said. "To truly have an impact in the rural community, we have to develop trust first," something previous VISTA volunteers have worked hard to establish.

The United Way of Tompkins County's AmeriCorps*VISTA Rural Fellowship Program is currently accepting applications for its next incoming class of VISTAs to begin service in August 2005.

To find out more about AmeriCorps*VISTA, a national community service program and about the United Way of Tompkins County's AmeriCorps*VISTA Rural Service Fellowship Program, go to www. hostithaca.com/vista or contact Lois Kang, VISTA Leader, at 607-272-6286 or vistaleader@uwtc.org

Mary Bulkot

©Ithaca Times 2005

When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state.

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RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter.

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March 5, 2005: RPCV Groups in the News San Diego RPCVs host reception with Gaddi Vasquez on March 6 4 Mar Alaska RPCVs speak for dividend 4 Mar Western North Carolina's RPCVs sponsor Africa Night on March 6 3 Mar Maryland RPCVs lobby their Senators for Peace Corps 3 Mar Connecticut RPCVs hold fundraiser on March 5 3 Mar Charles Baquet speaks at Louisiana PC Breakfast on March 4 28 Feb RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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March 5, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Senate FR Committee approves $345 M PC budget 4 Mar RPCV's "Kennedy's Kitchen" records second CD 4 Mar Sam Farr asks Army to reconsider burial policy 3 Mar Bayanihan jewelry designed by Philippines RPCV 2 Mar Todd Vetter receives calling during PC service 2 Mar Sargent Shriver still on Washington's A-list 2 Mar Photographer Bill Owens publishes new book 2 Mar Crisis Corps to open new program in Sri Lanka 28 Feb PC wants new stories for "The Great Adventure" 28 Feb Ukraine PCV asks "Is Bush right on Iraq?" 28 Feb Carol Bellamy defends "feminism" in aiding children 28 Feb John Bridgeland discusses role as Bush assistant 28 Feb Paul Theroux recalls high times with Hunter Thompson 28 Feb Elaine Chao Leads Delegation to Uruguay 28 Feb RPCV reunites with friend after 40 years 27 Feb Kay Muldoon-Ibrahim's photography on exhibit 27 Feb Jim Doyle displays political brilliance on tax cuts 26 Feb

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March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went.

Coates Redmon, Peace Corps Chronicler Coates Redmon, a staffer in Sargent Shriver's Peace Corps, died February 22 in Washington, DC. Her book "Come as You Are" is considered to be one of the finest (and most entertaining) recountings of the birth of the Peace Corps and how it was literally thrown together in a matter of weeks. If you want to know what it felt like to be young and idealistic in the 1960's, get an out-of-print copy. We honor her memory.

Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.

Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot? Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments.

WWII participants became RPCVs Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service.

Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

Read the stories and leave your comments.