Host Campuses

The NC Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA program allows you the opportunity to host a full-time volunteer on your campus for one year to start, enhance and sustain projects that lead to increased campus participation in community and public service. You must re-apply to host a NC Campus Compact VISTA each year. Ideally, you will host a VISTA for no more than three years before turning the position into a full-time staff position. After that time, you will either phase out of the program or have your next VISTA begin an entirely new focus.

How can you get students, faculty, staff and community partners more involved with service projects or service-learning? How does your campus intend to be more engaged in enhancing students’ sense of citizenship, awareness and leadership? What is missing on your campus?  In answering these questions, you might have come up with the ideal projects for your NC Campus Compact VISTA to tackle.

Starting with just 5 members in the summer of 2003, the NC Campus Compact VISTA program has now grown to 22 members. The VISTA program is often described as “invaluable” by our participants, both the VISTA themselves and their supervisors. Not only does your VISTA learn and grow professionally under the mentoring and guidance of their supervisor, but NC Campus Compact has developed a monthly Professional Development Series for our VISTAs. Your VISTA will attend one event a month – whether it is a conference, a meeting or a training – to develop their personal and professional skills.

Costs of Hosting a NC Campus Compact VISTA

AmeriCorps provides:

• Monthly living allowance to each VISTA of approximately $816 per month (depending on the county served)
• Option of either a $1,200 stipend or $4,725 education award at the end of the VISTA’s service year
• Health insurance
• Relocation allowance (for eligible VISTAs)
• Student loan forbearance
• Non-competitive eligibility for federal employment following the year of full-time service
• All-expenses paid Pre-Service Orientation that a person must attend before starting their VISTA service (usually at the end of July in Atlanta, Georgia for 3-4 days)

Host Campus provides:

• Housing support* in the form of on-campus housing (such as an on-campus apartment similar to what a Residence Director or Graduate Assistant would have) or monthly allowance toward an off-campus apartment of the VISTA’s choice
• Food support* such as an on-campus meal plan or gift cards to a local grocery store
• Office space and office supplies
• Small budget for travel related to campus work

*Please note that housing and food support should be considered in-house support for the VISTA volunteer position.

NC Campus Compact provides:

• Monthly professional development meetings either in the form of a meeting, training or one of our 2 annual conferences (the Student Conference and the Civic Engagement Institute and Service-Learning Conference)
• Travel reimbursement for all events directly related to NC Campus Compact
• Registration fees for all NC Campus Compact conferences
• Support of the NC Campus Compact VISTA Leader
• Networking opportunities amongst fellow VISTAs and tenured professionals

What VISTA Supervisors are saying:

“VISTA's contribute significantly to civic engagement efforts throughout the University via their creativity in meaningful service project design, their contagious passion for social justice, and their ability to connect with fellow peers in making education practical through the promotion of volunteer efforts.”

– Sudie Nallo, Pfeiffer University

“This is the second year that Campus Compact has provided a VISTA for us.  Our VISTA has filled in a tremendous professional gap due to our current staffing levels.  He has provided great leadership, mentorship, and creative problem-solving for our student leaders.  As the director, I have been able to shift from programming to administration and focus on bigger issues affecting our Center.  We are extremely grateful for our VISTA, NC Campus Compact, and our Division of Academic Affairs that provided the funds to support an AmeriCorps* VISTA”

- Donna Chapa Crowe, Ph.D., UNC-Wilmington

“These talented young men and women have created numerous new programs, strengthened our student leaders & peer educator teams, helped us grow programs (the University Million Meals event) and create educational tools for teaching social justice.  We could not have grown the way we have without their creativity and leadership.”

– Tierza Watts, North Carolina State University

For more information about hosting a NC Campus Compact VISTA, contact Jonathan Romm at 336.278.7197 or jromm@elon.edu