MONTANA OFFICE OF COMMUNITY SERVICE
Montana AmeriCorps Programs
What is AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a network of national service programs that engage more than 50,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. AmeriCorps members serve through more than 2,100 nonprofits, public agencies, and faith-based organizations. They tutor and mentor youth, build affordable housing, teach computer skills, clean parks and streams, run after-school programs, and help communities respond to disasters.
www.americorps.org
AmeriCorps*VISTA
Prevention Resource Center
The Prevention Resource Center (PRC), a prevention agency housed within the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, sponsors AmeriCorps*VISTA members throughout Montana. Currently, PRC has AmeriCorps VISTA members serving across the state, from recent college graduates to natives of Montana who were looking to make a difference in their communities. Each VISTA member work with communities through non-profit agencies that provide prevention programs in five areas: drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, school dropout, youth crime and violence, and child abuse and neglect.
http://www.prevention.state.mt.us/ Vicki Turner
Montana Legal Services
Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) is a non profit organization dedicated to providing free civil legal assistance to low-income Montana residents. It is the mission of MLSA to provide access to the justice system by delivering high quality civil legal assistance to the greatest number of low income Montanans in priority areas of law, as determined by clients and others in the community. MLSA currently has AmeriCorps *VISTA members serving throughout the state of Montana. The members work together in assisting MLSA, its partner organizations and local communities, within the project areas of Asset Development, Domestic Violence or Poverty Law, to build community capacity and assist low-income Montanans in living lives free of poverty.
www.mlsavista.org Michelle Hauer
Campus Compact
The Montana Campus Compact (MTCC) VISTA project is a statewide national service project working to make colleges and universities in Montana vital resources in community problem solving. MTCC VISTA’s serve from Montana college campuses and work closely with community members to solve local problems, start programs, write grants, raise awareness and mobilize community members. The Montana Campus Compact member campuses offer a diverse array of resources to their communities and the VISTA Project helps to mobilize them. VISTA’s do the hard work of mustering campus resources and organizing people to improve Montana communities.
http://www.mtcompact.org/ Josh Vanek
AmeriCorps State
Conservation Corps
The Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) is a crew based program working to enhance the social and natural environment of Montana by providing AmeriCorps members with service opportunities in natural and human resource stewardship. The Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) goals address the needs of two of our most precious resources -- our young people and our environment. Valuable, meaningful projects ensure a setting where our crews will learn job skills, work habits and become knowledgeable about the environment. In an average year, 160 members work on natural resource projects that include: 130 miles of trail building and maintenance, 25 miles of fencing installed and 20 parks improved. Crews also perform a variety of service projects addressing community needs including: repairing senior citizen homes, distributing food to the needy and repairing buildings for non-profit agencies. MCC is a place where young people do good things, become good citizens and make our community a better place.
http://www.montanaconservationcorps.com Jono McKinney
Literacy Support Corps
The mission of Western Montana Literacy Support Corps, a project of Family BASICS of Women’s Opportunity & Resource Development, Inc. (WORD), is to bring together people of all ages and backgrounds to build networks of support, to offer information and skills for parents to partner with schools in educating their children and to promote healthy, nurturing home environments that support children’s educational success. Each year, about 60 Literacy Support Corps members assist in the coordination of day-to-day operations of school-based Family Resource Centers. They also assist school staff by outreaching to parents and providing information and tools for parents to empower themselves in support of children’s education.
http://www.wordinc.org/ Jeanne Moon
Campus Corps
Montana Campus Corps (MCC) is a program sponsored by The Montana Campus Compact (MTCC), a member of the National Campus Compact. MCC places approximately 80 members on campuses throughout Montana to engage other college and university students in community service by serving as a liaison between the campus and the community. In addition, members serve in leadership roles will the intent of fostering a deeper sense of responsibility and commitment at every level of the community. Through partnerships with community agencies, members generate real solutions to identified needs . Members coordinate a variety of service opportunities that focus primarily on tutoring and mentoring youth and providing advocacy and support to low-income adults, parents of school children performing below grade level, and abused/neglected children.
http://www.mtcompact.org/ Molly Collins
