On this campus, we talk a lot about making a difference.
We talk about making a difference in our university, Chapel Hill, our hometowns, our state, our nation and our world.
Yet the University does not frequently promote the AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program.
The VISTA program is the domestic analog to the Peace Corps program, which UNC widely promotes. The VISTA program allows U.S. citizens to volunteer in the U.S. for 12 months on a stipend paid by the federal government.
The program promises to make a difference here at home by connecting VISTA members or leaders with local nonprofit organizations in towns and cities in the U.S.
The goal of the VISTA program says “members bring their passion and perseverance where the need is greatest: to organizations that help eradicate poverty.”
Our university stresses the need for students to effect change in our communities, as does this board. Thus, we find it strange that University Career Services and other organizations on campus focused on students’ paths after college do not address the opportunities offered by the AmeriCorps VISTA program.
Many people on our campus are committed to making a difference, so this board urges UNC to promote the VISTA program, and we encourage students to consider it alongside other fellowship and postgraduate options.
