AMERICORPS*VISTA and the KENTUCKY CAMPUS COMPACT Gayle Hilleke Executive Director, KyCC Northern Kentucky University 859-572-7614 hillekeg1@nku.edu Eugene Blackburn Program Director, Big Sandy Community & Technical College 606-886-3863 ext. 67182 eugene.blackburn@kctcs.edu Download the VISTA program application. (Word format)

Program Design

The Kentucky Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA Program will support 20 VISTA members who will be hosted by colleges and universities around the Commonwealth.

Each VISTA member will focus on one of the following goals:

1) Focused Project – The VISTA members will identify and implement a project focused on a specific poverty-related need in the community. Examples of projects might include: a teen parenting project, an adult literacy project, a tutoring project, or a transition project from homelessness to affordable housing.

2) Service Learning – The VISTA members will serve as a resource to assist faculty in implementing service-learning in their academic courses through connecting with community agencies that work with poverty-related issues.

3) Campus/ Community Collaborations – The VISTA members will assess current partnerships and help increase the college/community collaborations with specific attention to poverty-related issues.
 

Needs and Activities

The KyCC VISTA program will serve as a resource for the institutions of higher education to build their capacity to partner with the community to solve pressing needs, especially focused on poverty-related issues. Campuses will be encouraged to consider choosing their activities from the full scope of community needs including, but not limited to: financial asset development, ex-offender reentry, older Americans in poverty, rural initiatives, and strengthening America’s children and families.

The program will focus on sustainable solutions because each VISTA member will be responsible for helping to build/strengthen the infrastructure, procedures, and/or materials for the campus/community initiative. The goal is to provide a solid foundation so the program will last beyond the VISTA’s 3-year term of service.
 

Institutional Commitment

Each host campus will be asked to provide a $5500 cash match to host a VISTA member. This will include $5000 for stipend and $500 for travel expenses. In addition, the institution must provide a place for the VISTA member to work and a supervisor to support their work.
 

Federal Commitment

The other half of the member stipend will be paid by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). In addition, CNCS will provide health coverage, pre-service and early service training, and payroll services.
 

Kentucky Campus Compact Commitment

The Kentucky Campus Compact will supply a program director who will provide training, technical assistance, and oversight. In addition, a VISTA leader will work with the program director to provide support for members in their individual assignments. KyCC will hold quarterly VISTA meetings/trainings for all KyCC VISTA members and their supervisors.

Download the VISTA program application.  (Word format)