Campus Compact Mid-Atlantic (CCMA) AmeriCorps VISTA Award!

Campus Compact Mid-Atlantic is a coalition of more than 1,100 college and university presidents who are committed to fulfilling the public purposes of higher education. AmeriCorps VISTA helps individuals and communities implement grassroots solutions designed to alleviate poverty. Founded as Volunteers to Service in America in 1965, the program places individuals at nonprofit organizations and public agencies that are fighting literacy, improving health services, reducing unemployment, increasing housing opportunities, reducing recidivism, and expanding access to technology for those living in rural and urban areas of poverty across America.

Raising A Village Foundation and Wesley's Community Engagement Institute has been awarded an AmeriCorps VISTA member from Campus Compact Mid-Atlantic to develop a  youth-development program in  D.C. high-impact public schools in Spring 2019. Raising A Village Foundation and the Community Engagement Institute have partnered to create the Let's Make A Difference Project, a new curriculum as part of the Driven 2 Succeed program for 9th-12th graders in D.C. schools to provide educational support for students in the areas of social-emotional learning,  social entrepreneurship, and college and career readiness.

The CCMA AmeriCorps VISTA member will work with on-site staff and Community Engagement Institute (CEI) Fellows from Wesley Theological Seminary to build capacity and recruit volunteers to provide educational support for students in the areas of social-emotional learning, social entreprenuership, and college and career readiness. Curriculum focused on students’ engagement in the community, adapted from the CEI Fellows program and the Raising A Village Foundation Driven 2 Succeed program, will assist in creating clear pathways to productive citizenship by giving students the tools needed to thrive in a global society, particularly in the areas of increased college application and acceptance, improved graduation rates, enriched civic engagement activities, and enhanced high school GPAs for student participants.

The Let's Make A Difference Project will serve as a direct response to the community’s needs and its own desires to assist in the growth and development of D.C.’s youth and young adults by providing innovative and effective curriculum embedded in 21st century learning strategies that align with curriculum objectives and support the student’s overall development.