The Service Collaborative of wny on Site Orientation and Training

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  Understand the culture and mission of The Service Collaborative of Western New York, including its history and steady growth.
  
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  Understand the relationship of Serve New York VISTA with the other AmeriCorps programs run through The Service Collaborative of Western New York.
  
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  Understand the structure of Serve New York: its management, multiple site structure, the mentoring role of the VISTA Leaders, and the ongoing support and training offered to VISTA members.
  
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  Understand the VISTA policies of the Corporation for National & Community Service and the policies of The Service Collaborative of Western New York.
  
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  Understand the mission of the assigned service site and their individual role in that mission.
  
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  Understand how Serve New York and The Service Collaborative of Western New York are working to meet the current goals and objectives of the Corporation of National and Community Service.
  
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  Understand our program objectives in the upcoming year and how the project may evolve to meet the needs of an ever-changing community.
  
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  Understand that personal development will benefit your VISTA service and beyond.
  
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    Time management, personal career planning, stress management, financial planning, networking, grant writing, and many other things.
    

Our Programs

1. 
   Serve New York AmeriCorps VISTA
   
2. 
   AmeriCorps Builds Lives through Education (ABLE)
   
3. 
   Opportunity Corps
   
4. 
   Volunteer Center of WNY
   
5. 
   YouthBuild
   

Serve New York: 41 Member Slots, serving from Buffalo to Rochester, Ithaca, the Finger Lakes, Geneva, and White Plains

Impact areas: Veterans & Military Families, Education, Health & Nutrition, and Community & Economic Development

Our Mission, Vision, and Tag Line

Serve New York AC VISTA Mission Statement:

As the largest combined multi-site AC VISTA project in New York State, The VISTA Department works to fight the injustices and causes of poverty that face individuals and communities in Buffalo and the surrounding regions of New York State. Serve New York VISTA members work to increase capacity in non-profit organizations while empowering the community with tools to promote sustainable self-sufficiency. Our members commit to a year of service in which they not only fight poverty but live it, not only lead the community but are a part of it, and not only change the world but are changed by it.
Serve New York AC VISTA Vision:

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  To decrease poverty and the disparity of wealth in New York State
  
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  To make all New York communities sustainable and self-sufficient
  
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  To engage all New Yorkers in lifelong volunteerism and service
  
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  To create a National Service network of New York State Veterans Service Agencies and organizations that serve military families
  
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  To increase impact, capacity, and sustainability in partnering organizations serving low-income individuals and communities
  
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  To foster collaboration among project members and host-sites
  
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  To adhere to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it.”
  

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  Communication and reporting process: monthly (date, expectations, and process) and site visits
  
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  Time sheets, time off request forms
  
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  Monthly trainings (mandatory), periodic service projects (mandatory), and social activities (recommended)
  
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  Project plan and VISTA Assignment Description (VAD) review.
  
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  Anti-Harassment Policy, drug and alcohol policy
  
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  Member contract
  

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  Based on your Project Plan
  
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  Providing documentation to ensure that data updates are accurate
  
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  Complete reports are important: they go to Albany, Washington, and finally to Congress and the President!
  

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  Reports: Due monthly
  
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  Timesheets/Time Records: Due bi-monthly
  
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  Member trainings and meeting
  
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  Service Projects (periodically)
  
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  Social activities (optional, but recommended)
  

Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the Civilian Corps (CCC), providing opportunities for millions of young men to serve six to 18 months to help restore the nation's parks, revitalize the economy, and support their families and themselves.

The GI Bill, officially known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, is created, linking service and education and offering Americans an educational opportunity in return for service to their country.

President John F. Kennedy proposes establishment of the Peace Corps and Congress authorizes it on September 22, 1961. President Kennedy states, "The wisdom of this idea is that someday we'll bring it home to America."

The White House Conference on Aging is held, drawing attention to the continuing opportunity and need to engage older adults in meaningful service activities.

1964

As part of the "War on Poverty," President Lyndon B. Johnson creates VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), a National Teacher Corps, the Job Corps, and University Year of Action.

The Community Service Society of New York launches a pilot project involving a group of older adults in volunteer service to their communities. The project demonstrates the value of senior volunteers and serves as a precursor to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

Urban Corps emerges, funded with federal work-study dollars.

By this time, 3,600 VISTA members are serving throughout the country, helping to develop the first Head Start programs and Job Corps sites, and starting agricultural cooperatives, community groups, and small businesses.

The phrase "service-learning" is first used to describe a project in East Tennessee that links students and faculty with area development organizations.

VISTA merges with the Peace Corps and senior service programs to form the ACTION agency.

National service efforts are launched at the grassroots level, including the Campus Outreach Opportunity League (1984) and Campus Compact (1985), which helps mobilize students in higher education.

VISTA’s focus changes to encourage citizen participation and community self-help.

1986

The VISTA Literacy Corps is developed to create literacy councils and expand adult education.

President George H.W. Bush creates the Office of National Service in the White House and the Points of Light Foundation to foster volunteering.

President Bush signs the National and Community Service Act of 1990 into law. The legislation authorizes grants to schools to support service-learning through Serve America (now known as Learn and Serve America) and demonstration grants for national service programs to youth corps, nonprofits, and colleges and universities.

President Bill Clinton signs the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, creating AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service to expand opportunities for Americans to serve their communities. VISTA and the National Civilian Community Corps become part of AmeriCorps.

The Corporation for National and Community Service officially begins operation.

Congress passes the King Holiday and Service Act of 1994, charging the Corporation for National and Community Service with establishing Martin Luther King Day as a day of service.

September 1994

The first class of AmeriCorps members - 20,000 strong - begins serving in more than 1,000 communities. In swearing in these Americans, President Clinton says: "Service is a spark to rekindle the spirit of democracy in an age of uncertainty. When it is all said and done, it comes down to three simple questions: What is right? What is wrong? And what are we going to do about it? Today you are doing what is right - turning your words into deeds."

A study commissioned by the IBM Foundation, the Charles A. Dana Foundation, and the James Irvine Foundation finds that every federal dollar invested in AmeriCorps results in $1.60 to $2.60 or more in direct, measurable benefits to AmeriCorps members and the communities they serve.

The National Civilian Community Corps is included under AmeriCorps, becoming AmeriCorps*NCCC.

1997

AmeriCorps expands by introducing the Education Awards Program, which allows more organizations to join the service network -- nonprofits, faith-based organizations, colleges and universities, welfare-to-work programs, and other groups.

AmeriCorps celebrates five years and 150,000 members.

AmeriCorps VISTA commemorates 35 years of fighting poverty in America. Since 1965, more than 130,000 VISTA members have used a hands-on, grassroots approach to empower individuals and communities throughout the country.

President George W. Bush calls for a “nation of citizens, not spectators” in his inaugural address and launches a faith-based and community initiative to expand support for grassroots organizations meeting local needs.

In his state of the Union Address, President George W. Bush asks all Americans to devote two years or 4,000 hours to volunteer service during their lifetimes. As part of this call to service, he creates USA Freedom Corps, a White House office and coordinating council to encourage Americans to serve their communities and country. He also proposes to expand AmeriCorps by 50 percent.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reports that both the number of volunteers and the volunteer rate rose over the year ended in September 2003. About 63.8 million people did volunteer work at some point from September 2002 to September 2003, up from 59.8 million for the similar period ended in September 2002.

AmeriCorps receives a record funding increase to allow programs to grow to 75,000 members.

AmeriCorps NCCC recognizes 10,000 alumni, 15.3 million service hours, 4,500 projects and 10 years of service during Legacy Weekends at all five campuses. In recognition of its 40th anniversary, AmeriCorps VISTA commences a study of its alumni and the impact national service had on their lives.

The 500,000th AmeriCorps member is sworn into service.

President Barack Obama enacted the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The Serve America Act reauthorized and expanded national service programs administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service by amending the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA) and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (DVSA). This act dramatically increased intensive service opportunities by setting AmeriCorps on a path from 75,000 positions annually to 250,000 by 2017, and focusing that service on education, health, clean energy, veterans, economic opportunity and other national priorities. This act also tied the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to the maximum Pell Grant level (now $5,550, but set to increase over time).

President Barack Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum to expand national service. The memorandum established a National Service Task Force that will be co-chaired by the CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. The Task Force will recommend policies to expand national service opportunities, develop opportunities for interagency agreements between CNCS and other federal agencies, and identify public-private partnerships to expand national service opportunities.

Senior Corps

AmeriCorps VISTA

AmeriCorps State and National

AmeriCorps NCCC

AmeriCorps

July, 2013

Dear Serve New York VISTA member,

As Executive Director of The Service Collaborative it is my privilege to welcome you to your year of service with the Serve New York VISTA program. The next 12 months will be full of new experiences, unanticipated opportunities, and surprising rewards. My hope for you is that you will leave your service with VISTA aware of not only the challenges facing our less advantaged communities but also of the solutions that are being created by citizen, non-profit and faith-based organizations everyday.

At The Service Collaborative we are very proud of the history and growth of our VISTA program. What started over a decade ago as a ten member corps has grown into a unique program that is one of the largest VISTA initiatives in the nation. The Serve New York VISTA program and its members make strides everyday in the battle against poverty in Buffalo and across the state. Serving in VISTA, you can know that you are not only part of the national VISTA legacy and mission but also the AmeriCorps VISTA movement, creating opportunities for all Americans to serve our communities and nation. As a VISTA, whether you are writing grants, managing volunteers, starting new programs, or engaging the community with needed services, your commitment will be vital to your host site and to the individuals whose lives will be better because of it. I invite you to utilize all of The Service Collaborative programs as resources and to let us know if there is anything we can do to make your year of service an even greater success.

When the first VISTA members began their service in December 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson remarked to the members, “your pay will be low, the conditions of you labor will often be difficult. But you will have the satisfaction of leading a great national effort, and you will have the ultimate reward which comes to those who serve their nation and who serve their fellow man.” These words are as true today as when they were first spoken, and I hope that this experience will be just a step in a lifelong journey of service. Thank you for your commitment, and may this year by everything you hope for and much more!

Yours in service,

Kate Sarata

Executive Director

The Service Collaborative of WNY, Inc.

July 2013

Dear Serve New York VISTA member,

First and foremost, thank you for choosing to dedicate a year of your life to AmeriCorps VISTA. You join more than 500,000 individuals that since 1994 have chosen AmeriCorps as a path, more than 7,000 members annually that choose AmeriCorps VISTA, and over 300 Service Collaborative of Western New York (TSCWNY) AmeriCorps members—64 of which are VISTAs—that in 2013 alone chose the path of service. With the support of a federal administration that values service as a means of personal, community and national transformation, national service is poised to take hold in mainstream culture and provide essential benefits for communities far and wide across the nation. Congratulations on being at the forefront of a movement that is in the midst of vital growth and affecting formative change on the face of our nation!

Historically, VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) has been in operation since 1964, engaging thousands of members per year in its rigorous poverty-elimination mission. Locally, Serve New York VISTA has been serving Greater Buffalo since 1996.

The work of our members is consistently impressive. In the 2012-2013 program year alone, our 41 full-time VISTA members raised a total of in $648,830 in cash resources and $1,098,063 in in-kind resources. They also mobilized 4,933 volunteers who performed 35,079 hours of service. This capital has increased our host sites’ abilities to help erase the complex forces that lead to poverty in an abundant society.

In the 2013-2014 grant year, our program will improve our communities through non-profit organizational capacity building including fund and resource development, financial literacy education, volunteer mobilization, and increased support for refugees, immigrants, veterans and military families, and low-income youth and individuals. Our members will additionally provide financial literacy and asset development among citizens, in addition to sustaining programs which provide equitable housing.

While the results of your service will be easily quantifiable, what may not be easily quantified is the profound impact that service may have on you. As the Director of this VISTA program, I get to witness it in others also: individuals come to serve expecting to give back, and instead the experience gives to them, and keeps on giving. One of our Alums recently stated this in a post-service reflection: “[Because of my service] I believe that hope is justified for struggling communities. Most of all, I believe in the power of compassionate people to affect real change.” I wish for you, then, an experience that provides affirmation: in the goodness of people, the power of community, the reality of each person’s ability to make a difference.

As you begin, I thank you for your service and your trust in your ability to make a difference: because you wish it, you are sure to affect the change you intend. The AmeriCorps VISTA team will be here to support you through your commitment: we are here to serve you. Good luck and welcome!

Yours in service,

Steve Deisig

Director of VISTA & Opportunity Corps

The Service Collaborative of Western New York, Inc.

SPONSORING ORGANIZATION

MISSION STATEMENTS

The Service Collaborative of Western New York creates opportunities for all individuals to serve, challenging citizens to turn their ideals into action and their passion into positive change. Through transformational service and civic responsibility, The Service Collaborative is designing a sustainable future for our nation’s communities.

The VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) programs of The Service Collaborative work to fight the injustices and causes of poverty that face individuals and communities in Buffalo and New York State. VISTA members of The Service Collaborative serve to increase capacity in non-profit organizations while empowering the community with tools for self-sufficiency. Our members commit to a year of service in which they will not only fight poverty but live it, not only lead the community but are a part of it, and not only change the world but are changed by it.

THE SERVICE COLLABORATIVE OF WESTERN NEW YORK

As a member of Serve New York VISTA, not only are you part of one of the largest VISTA programs in the country, but you are also a part of the 501 c 3 non-profit organization The Service Collaborative of Western New York. The Service Collaborative operates multiple national service programs within the primary impact areas of Poverty Elimination, Education Youth Leadership Development and Volunteerism. Below are our core programs:

Members serve at veteran and military family related non-profits and community organizations throughout New York State to build capacity and sustainability for entities that provide services to veterans, military personnel, and their families. Members also serve at non-profit, faith-based and community organizations throughout Buffalo to develop Youth Education, financial literacy, and refugee services.

ABLE members primarily serve within Buffalo charter schools as tutors and teachers’ aides to improve educational opportunities for Buffalo’s youth. In a secondary impact, ABLE members recruit and organize community volunteers.

Opportunity Corps members are placed within non-profit organizations to help increase the partner site's capacity to provide quality financial literacy services.

YouthBuild members commit themselves to "rebuild and improve the quality of life in our community through collective work, responsibility and cooperative economics. To educate, elevate, and raise the consciousness of ourselves and others along the way." The YouthBuild program works to insure this commitment is met through a variety of volunteer projects and events held throughout communities statewide.

In conjunction with the New York State Volunteer Generation Program, New Yorkers Volunteer and the Corporation for National & Community Service, VolunteerWNY serves as the hub for volunteer activity for Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, and Allegany Counties.  VolunteerWNY is an initiative to promote volunteerism across the region. 

According to recent census data, New York State ranks 51st out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia in volunteer activity. Startled by this statistic, New York State’s Commission on National & Community Service established a goal to strengthen our volunteer spirit. ‘Place one million people in meaningful roles as volunteers to address important needs in communities across the state.’

To maximize the impact of volunteers, the State Commission established a network of ten volunteer-connector agencies to serve as Regional Volunteer Centers. Regional Volunteer Centers, like VolunteerWNY, provide critical training and resources to expand the capacity of local volunteer organizations. These resources will help organizations recruit, manage, support and retain individuals to serve in high quality volunteer assignments.

Opportunity Corps

ABLE

Youth Build

Serve New York VISTA

Framing Hope Warehouse