[Announcement from he-sl listserv]
Good
afternoon,
Please share
with others who may be interested in AmeriCorps VISTA positions.
Thank you!
----
Always
wonder what it might be like to live in Las Vegas, Nevada? Known as the
Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas is an internationally renowned
major resort city for entertainment, shopping and fine dining. A growing
retirement and family city, Las Vegas is the 28th most populous city
in the United States.
Las Vegas is
also home to a large nonprofit sector working diligently to improve high school
graduation rates, end childhood hunger, save the environment and eradicate
poverty. United Way of Southern Nevada is currently recruiting for 14
VISTAs and one VISTA Team Leader to serve 8/6/2012 – 8/9/2013 in the Las Vegas
area.
The positions
include:
By increasing the capacity of
nonprofit organizations, we ensure that these key organizations are able to
survive the economic downturn & continue to provide for the clients which
rely upon them. AmeriCorps VISTA members will serve in capacity building
assignments: building and strengthening the overall capacity of local nonprofit
organizations, i.e., resource development capacity & volunteer management
capacity. The VISTA Team Leader will support these efforts by providing
one-on-one support to VISTA members. This support will be provided via regular
site visits, team meetings, trainings and service projects for members. To be eligible
to serve the VISTA Team Leader, applicant must have successfully completed at
least 1 term of VISTA service.
The VISTA member will partner
with Arthritis Foundation staff to develop Life Improvement exercise classes
for low income individuals living in southern Nevada. The member will also
research & develop grants to sustain & grow existing programs designed
to decrease on the job injury. These programs for employees not only reduce on
the job injuries, but keep employees at work & able to perform their job
duties. Targeted employees are generally low income, 78% of which are Hispanic,
earning $8-$12 an hour. The VISTA member will explore avenues to increase
funding for needy families affected by Juvenile Arthritis to enable them to
attend educational conferences as well as enable children affected by JA to
attend medically supervised summer camps.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of
Las Vegas (BGCLV) serves an average of 1,000 kids per day, ages 5-18, and has a
special focus on children and teens from challenging or disadvantaged
circumstances. Members often come from low income/single parent households and
face challenging obstacles to succeed. The BGCLV strives to provide positive
roles models that can have a meaningful impact on these lives. Volunteers are
essential to the organization, in not only becoming role models for members,
but also bringing new skills & services that allow them to provide quality
programs for the kids benefit and enjoyment. Volunteer involvement, whether
individual or corporate, also creates strong relationships with the community
that seeks to invest in the future of youth. The VISTA member will be
responsible for continuing to develop the capacity of the BGCLV newly
established Volunteer Management Program.
Within the foster care
community there exists a primary need to strengthen families. The Child Focus
program connects separated siblings in foster care, providing opportunities for
them to heal, grown and maintain their sibling bond during a very difficult
chapter in their life. The experience of the individual placed at the Child
Focus office would include helping families (primarily children & youth in
foster care) strengthen their family bonds. Strengthening families is a key
tenant in helping families to break the cycle of abuse & neglect. The VISTA
member would work with staff from St. Jude's Ranch for Children's Child Focus
program to balance capacity building projects in three program areas: Cyber
Siblings, Mentoring and Academic Success. The VISTA member would help siblings
communicate with one another without direct contact via cell phones and
computers as part of the Cyber Sibling Program. In the event a brother or
sister moves from their current foster home, they would be able to continue
communicating via technology at their new placement.
The VISTA member will
outreach to new & existing partners in the community to identify opportunities
for youth to volunteer as well as to identify opportunities for community
members to volunteer in activities which promote education and student success.
The VISTA will develop key talking points & guidelines for conversations,
coordinate trainings, place volunteers in school settings as well as develop
& maintain a database of volunteer opportunities and completed activities.
The VISTA will develop systems to ensure the sustainability of service
initiatives beyond the VISTA program. In addition, the VISTA will maintain
& enhance a social media campaign to bring community-wide awareness to
education themed volunteer opportunities. The VISTA will develop volunteer
opportunities that enable community members to become involved in school programs
that promote economic development in southern Nevada.
The VISTA opportunity at
Goodwill of Southern Nevada has two primary strategic objectives. First, the
VISTA member will help Goodwill develop sustainable programs for financial
stability (VITA/EITC, Financial Education & Asset Development) to be
integrated long-term into the organization's workforce development mission.
Secondly, the VISTA member will help Goodwill secure grants to support these
financial stability programs, Goodwill's VISTA member will support volunteer
outreach, recruitment, training & certification as well as provide
necessary oversight to ensure volunteer retention. They will also develop &
implement volunteer recognition activities.
NVHC currently has a small
but effective volunteer program and are in need of a VISTA member to devote
time and energy into making the program robust and sustainable. The VISTA
member will be responsible for enhancing training materials, recruiting
volunteers and keeping them engaged. The VISTA member will be charged with
growing the volunteer program through strategic recruitment, volunteer
orientation and monthly volunteer training. The VISTA member will create a team
of volunteers who will reach the underserved & poverty-stricken residents
of the Las Vegas community to help eliminate health disparities and poverty by
referring them to affordable health services.
The VISTA member will address
the need for greater financial stability in Nevada. According to the
Corporation for Enterprise Development, 45% of Nevada households are asset
poor, or lack the ability to live at poverty level for three months in the
absence of income. This presents a significant challenge for the stability of
Nevada families, communities and schools. By supporting the establishment of a
year round asset development center, the VISTA member will decrease poverty in
Nevada by mitigating asset poverty. The VISTA member in partnership with Nevada
Partners staff will build organizational capacity and support many aspects of
their poverty mitigating programs. In particular, the VISTA member will play a
central role in establishing long term sustainable financial stability programs
& services. The member will recruit, retain & recognize volunteers for
the VITA/EITC (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance/Earned Income Tax Credit)
program as well as ensure they receive the training and certification necessary
to volunteer with the program.
The AmeriCorps VISTA member
will work in partnership with NPHY staff to extend, expand and enhance current
multi-pronged outreach & volunteer programs to ensure homeless youth get
off the streets. NPHY's outreach program includes preventative outreach to
youth in schools, intervention outreach to youth living on the streets, and
training & outreach to community stakeholders. The VISTA will focus on
further developing youth-centered outreach program thereby enabling NPHY staff
& volunteers to make a real difference in the lives of more homeless youth.
The VISTA will coordinate & expand the current in-school preventative &
educational outreach program where NPHY volunteers staff information tables at
southern Nevada high schools and provide information on Safe Place (a 24/7/365
mobile crisis intervention service assessable to any youth in crisis) and other
NPHY services.
For many years, Outside Las
Vegas Foundation (OLVF) facilitated the development of open space & trails
resources. OLVF is now focusing on connecting the community, with an emphasis
on children & families in less advantaged communities, to these resources.
As a result, OLVF is expanding into several program areas that will need a
variety of capacity building & organizational assistance. The OLVF believes
that building connections to southern Nevada's outdoor places contributes to
strong community ties, better familial bonds, & increased economic
vitality. OLVF provides new opportunities, inspirations & goals for
children & families through outdoor experiences either by educational
experiences including supplementing curriculum, stewardship & civic
engagement events, or by focusing on health & fitness improvement. These experiences
directly benefit young people by improving physical & mental health and
have been shown to improve scholastic achievements. The cycle of poverty is
complex & the OLVF approaches the solution through innovative community
& family investment. Their programs compliment others that address housing,
food, & basic needs by providing mental & emotional nurturing.
The VISTA member will
coordinate all volunteer aspects of The Salvation Army programs & services
that assist low-income & homeless people in order to alleviate poverty,
obtain or increase income and achieve or retain permanent housing to lead them
to lives of self-sufficiency and independence. The VISTA will revise and update
current volunteer policies & procedures, serve as a liaison with
departments and survey staff to assess their volunteer needs. Additionally, the
member will generate appropriate volunteer projects and descriptions, provide
appropriate support & training for volunteers, recruit, assign &
schedule volunteers to appropriate tasks as well as monitor, support, motivate
& recognize their efforts.
As part of United Way of
Southern Nevada's (UWSN) national service program, the VISTA member assigned to
UWSN's Volunteer Center will design & implement multi-tiered programs to
engage individuals in education-themed volunteer opportunities. The VISTA member
will interact with schools, businesses, & nonprofits in the development of
these projects. Additionally, the VISTA member will coordinate a high-school
volunteer & recognition program in partnership with Clark County School
District and area high schools.
The VISTA member would serve
in the United Way of Southern Nevada's (UWSN) Community Development Dept.
providing program management for projects classified as Immediate Needs
provision. Among the projects included are Project REACH, a utility assistance
program; the Emergency Food & Shelter Program (federal grant fiscally
managed by UWSN) and the Immediate Needs grant program. All three of the programs
are specifically aimed at assisting homeless, low and moderate income members
of the community with the basic needs of food, shelter, rent & utilities
through funding of partner organizations in Clark County, NV. The work of the
VISTA member would directly impact the lives of southern Nevadans living at or
below poverty level, as those who seek assistance with basic needs are those
most affected by financial instability, including poverty. Specifically, the
VISTA will develop a more effective system of reporting & monitoring grants
and communicating this system to partner agencies, including providing
technical assistance to Local Recipient Organizations and grantee agencies to
ensure effective use of grant awards.
The VISTA member will provide
support for volunteer recruitment, training, certification, retention & recognition
as well as implement an outreach plan for the Earn It Keep It Save It (EKS),
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
programs in the Las Vegas Valley. The VISTA member will develop additional
asset development tools that the VITA site clients can utilize as well as
provide in-kind support of marketing materials, office supplies & equipment
for VITA and asset development coordination.
The VISTA member will
identify resources and links for veterans and their families, including but not
limited to behavioral health, housing, employment, transportation, and medical
services. The member will work in partnership with staff to develop new
initiatives for veterans & military families, identify and build new
partnerships, as well as research and develop resources, write grants, etc. The
VISTA will provide support to programs that educate the community on specific
populations, i.e., veterans, military families, re-entry, and homeless
families. The VISTA will represent WestCare at health fairs, Vet fairs and
provide community presentations marketing the scope of services provided by
WestCare. The VISTA will create training for new staff & volunteers working
with special populations.
AmeriCorps VISTAs in Southern Nevada will receive a
modest living allowance of $1016 each month (before taxes). The Team Leader
will receive a living allowance of $1216 each month (before taxes). After the
successful completion of a term, VISTAs may be eligible to receive a $5,550
education award.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you!
Regards,
Jacob
Jacob Murdock | Manager
United Way of Southern Nevada
8290 S. Arville Street
Las Vegas, NV 89139
p. 702.892.2321
f. 702.734.8505
LIVE UNITED
