Abstract

A national network of drop-in resource centers, staffed by student volunteers from area colleges and universities, provides information and problem-solving services to community residents in need of assistance finding sustainable employment, social services, and/or educational opportunities. AmeriCorps*VISTA members provide vital full-time, on-site support to local directors and volunteers, helping to build structure and capacity for this program. This effective practice was highlighted in the National Service News, May 12, 2002, Issue No.184, published by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

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Issue

Utilizing AmeriCorps*VISTA members to bring structure and capacity to an organization is not a new idea. However, maximizing services and leveraging volunteers can be a challenge for programs.

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Action

National Student Partnerships (NSP) operates a national network of drop-in resource centers, staffed by student volunteers from area colleges and universities, that provide information and problem-solving services to community residents in need of assistance finding sustainable employment, social services, and/or educational opportunities. NSP volunteers are trained to work one-on-one with clients to provide intensive on-site and referral services, thereby connecting individuals to the full range of personal, civic, social, and business opportunities available to them. Effective practices include:

• Local offices are overseen by student volunteers serving as local directors, and fully staffed by teams of student volunteers from area colleges and universities. Students are trained to provide a combination of on-site services as well as referrals to other community-based resources and services.
• Services at the drop in centers include: creating/refining resumes and cover letters; locating GED and Certification programs; identifying low-cost daycare options; coordinating affordable healthcare options; locating temporary, transitional and permanent housing; securing free/low-cost legal assistance; determining transportation options;locating employment opportunities; and providing language translation services.
• Beginning in July 2002 NSP began partnering with the AmeriCorps* VISTA program, placing one AmeriCorps*VISTA member in each NSP local office across the country. NSP AmeriCorps*VISTA members provide vital full-time, on-site support to NSP's local directors and volunteers. AmeriCorps*VISTA members' responsibilities include: developing and maintaining productive community partnerships, strengthening the network between local offices and the national office, enhancing NSP's visibility within the community, and implementing NSP's client service training program.
• AmeriCorps*VISTA members build structure and capacity by solving problems, maintaining systems and responding to phone calls so that NSP volunteers can focus on providing quality client service and student directors can better manage the office.
• NSP's national office, based in Washington, D.C., provides local offices with the full-time management resources, tools and skills they need to provide consistent, high-quality client service. In addition, the national office helps to recruit and train dedicated, dependable student volunteers.
• The NSP national office performs the primary financial management, training and quality assurance functions of the organization. The national office drives the organization's strategic development, which includes shaping and promoting the organization's public profile, as well as monitoring the progress and challenges of the organization's long-term planning.
• To effectively navigate and create partnerships within all sectors of the communities, local office teams focus on: social outreach, identifying existing social service resources within the community and linking clients with those appropriate services; and business outreach, identifying community businesses and business leaders who are in the process of hiring or could be encouraged to collaborate with NSP in hiring NSP clients for available positions.

To start a Local Office:

Call the national office at 202-289-1151. They will talk with your organization about ideas, ask for an assessment of your community's need for the services NSP provides, and other ideas about getting fellow students involved.

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Context

National Student Partnerships (NSP) was founded in 1998 by two Yale University undergraduates who sought to bridge the widening socioeconomic gap between university students and the impoverished community in New Haven that surrounded the university campus. Kreiter and Lodal recognized the unique role students could play as leaders and advocates in innovative community building, and achieved measurable success in the effective student/community/business collaborations they established in New Haven. From these early successes, Kreiter and Lodal envisioned a national volunteer service movement that would link existing financial, social, and creative resources in communities throughout the nation, in which student volunteers play a primary role in a partnership network dedicated to the goals of personal, economic and social transformation in communities.

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Outcome

• AmeriCorps*VISTA members have been instrumental in helping NSP's student volunteer leadership integrate more effectively with service partners to better serve clients. Their experience, combined with the outside perspective of the other members, helps them to work effectively with student-run affiliates.
• AmeriCorps*VISTA members full-time presence in NSP local offices in the Washington D.C. area has brought structure and enhanced credibility to programs, relieving student directors and volunteers of some of the administrative tasks they perform at NSP in addition to their busy schedules of classes, school functions and other priorities.
• Since community groups rely on NSP more than ever to meet increasing needs, AmeriCorps*VISTA members have made it possible to expand the number of participating schools in its student recruiting efforts.

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Evidence

• In 2001, NSP received a two-year, $900,000 "capacity-building" grant from the United States Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration.
• As of 2002, NSP operates in twenty college communities.
• In Richmond, Virginia, the NSP program includes students from both the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University. Since 1999, the Richmond affiliate has helped more than 100 clients develop resumes, find employment leads and obtain social services. Partnerships were developed with other service organizations, and more than 50 students volunteered.
• In San Antonio, NSP organized a service fair as part of Make a Difference Day. San Antonio NSP was a Daily Point of Light winner in April 2003.

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Posted On

May 27, 2003

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For More Information

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Related Practices

• Integrating community service with higher education student government programming

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Topic Areas

• Community building
• Leveraging volunteers
• Capacity building
• Partnerships
• School-community partnerships
• AmeriCorps
• AmeriCorps VISTA
• Volunteer
• Students
• Higher Ed
• AmeriCorps
• Program management

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