About AmeriCoprs*VISTA: AmeriCorps*VISTA is a national service program in which volunteers live in the communities they serve, designing programs that will continue after they complete their service. Created in 1965, VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) was designed to meet the needs of underserved communities and to address and combat poverty. In 1993, AmeriCorps was created and merged with the existing VISTA program. The Corporation for National and Community Service, also created in 1993, has oversight for all AmeriCorps*VISTA programs.
What is Ohio Campus Compact (OCC)? Ohio Campus Compact (OCC) is the state affiliate for National Campus Compact, implementing the mission and goals of the national organization at the state level. OCC promotes community service that develops students' citizenship skills and values, encourages collaborative partnerships between campuses and communities, and assists faculty who seek to integrate public and community engagement into their teaching and research.
What is the OCC AmeriCoprs*VISTA Program? The Ohio Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA program was created in 1998 with six VISTAs focusing on literacy. In 2004 the program grew to 22 VISTAs on 20 member campuses assisting their colleges and universities to enhance and expand the civic engagement of students and faculty in their respective communities.
The goals of OCC's VISTA Program are to:
Integrate service into faculty instruction and students' studies, making community service and service-learning a valued element of the undergraduate experience.
Enhance students' responsibility, citizenship, and awareness of the community while reinvigorating higher education's concern for improving the quality of life in society.
Strengthen the impact of that service on the welfare of communities and the education of students in institutions of higher education.
For more infromation on OCC's VISTA Program or to learn how to apply, go to ohiocampuscompact.org and click VISTA.