History of the the AmeriCorps*VISTA programAmeriCorps*VISTA is the national service program designed specifically to fight poverty. |
Founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993, VISTA has been on the front lines in the fight against poverty in America for 45 years. (www.americorps.gov) On December 12, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson welcomed the first group of 20 VISTA volunteers with this advice:
“Your pay will be low; the conditions of your labor often will 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 fellow man.”
When you chose to serve as a VISTA, you chose to be part of this great national effort. Please learn about the legacy of the VISTAs who served before you.
Today a Congresswoman, Gwendolynne Moore was among this group of VISTA members who completed a Pre-Service Orientation in 1982, conducted by Milwaukee Associates in Urban Development, a VISTA project sponsor in Wisconsin. U.S. Representative Moore is in the first row, second from the left. Linda Sunde, also a VISTA alumna and now the Corporation State Director in Wisconsin, is in the second row, left.
Learn more about this legacy through the VISTA Legacy book. VISTA - legacybook.pdf
