AmeriCorps

The Nonprofit Center supports people with learning, connection, and resources to build just and sustainable communities. For 45 years, The Nonprofit Center has dedicated itself to empowering and connecting the nonprofit sector. We focus on advancing organizations’ efforts, developing leadership, and providing consulting services, educational programs and resource connections. The project will begin with initial research with the community-based, anti-poverty focused organizations we serve to understand the best methods for us to gather data from them about their capacity strengthening needs. Using this research, the VISTA will make recommendations to help create strong feedback and action loops which will help inform the design of free and low-cost programs and services for these organizations. Next, the VISTA project will implement a new data driven brand identity to make The Nonprofit Center an easily recognizable and accessible resource for these organizations and individuals...

Body Empowerment Project (BEP) is a prevention-focused youth mental health program that addresses eating disorder risk, poor self-esteem, and negative body image through culturally responsive, school-based education. Thirteen percent of U.S. youth will develop an eating disorder by age 20, yet accessible prevention efforts remain limited—particularly in underserved communities where care is often reactive and difficult to access. Developed in collaboration with pediatric eating disorder experts, BEP’s Flagship Youth Program is a 10-week longitudinal intervention designed to reduce risk factors like body image dissatisfaction and strengthen protective factors, including body appreciation, coping skills, and peer connection. The curriculum integrates trauma-informed, cognitive-behavioral, and social justice frameworks, and is delivered by trained near-peer mentors (ages 18–25) whose lived experiences reflect the identities of participating students. The program equips youth with...

Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) equips young people to build lifelong skills, pursue meaningful careers, and embrace change with confidence —so they can thrive in the workforce, experience economic mobility, and strengthen their communities. PYN is working to generate a centralized, evidence-based curriculum library designed to enhance the quality and consistency of youth workforce programming. Member Duties : Philadelphia Youth Network seeks a PHENND VISTA Fellow to support the creation of a Career-Connected Curriculum Resource Library serving youth ages 12–24 across Philadelphia. This initiative will centralize evidence-based curriculum, instructional tools, and workforce development resources into an accessible digital platform used by schools, community organizations, and employer partners. Rather than providing direct service, the Fellow will build organizational infrastructure that strengthens how career-readiness education is designed, shared, and...

Launchpad prepares Philadelphia high school students from traditionally underrepresented communities for thriving wage careers. Our comprehensive 2.5-year program, starting summer after 11th grade, immerses students in over 2,000 hours of rigorous training. Participants gain crucial digital skills, AI fluency, industry exposure, durable skills, and real-world experience, while earning up to $18,000 in stipends. Launchpad’s curriculum is centered around three stackable programs—Foundations, 101, and LiftOff—that learners can complete sequentially over 2.5 years or as standalone phases, with clear on- and off-ramps, giving learners flexibility to pursue a pathway that fits their needs. Participants self-select into one of two career pathways: software engineering or entrepreneurial leadership. Both pathways receive a shared foundational AI skillset, resume, LinkedIn, interview prep, and meaningful work experience. Within their chosen pathways, learners complete authentic,...

For 30 years, Spiral Q has engaged in creative art-making that provides leverage for residents in our marginalized communities to set the agenda, be heard, and self-determine their lives. Through youth arts education, community art projects, parades and celebrations, Spiral Q’s work civically engages, centers and amplifies the voices that are most silenced. Through core programming, community engagement workshops and special projects, Spiral Q works with all ages to support and facilitate art-making where youth, neighbors, organizers, and cultural workers build giant puppets, banners, and large-scale art that shines light on community issues In school, students experience socio-emotional learning and collaborative experimentation within the framework of learning to collaboratively make art that amplifies students’ visions and voices. Member Duties : The VISTA will be part of Spiral Q’s collaborative team and will play a supportive role in donor engagement...

Park to Broad is a community development non-profit founded in 1999 to advance the growth and unique character of the Fairmount and Girard Avenue commercial corridors, support local businesses located in Fairmount, Brewerytown, Francisville, and Spring Garden and partner with adjacent neighborhood organizations to create a safer, more accessible, connected and equitable community. The organization produces monthly community-building public events and festivals to support local businesses, provides daily street cleaning, and connects entrepreneurs with resources to grow and thrive. Park to Broad also advocates for and invests in infrastructure and amenities to improve the community’s safety and quality of life. Through programs and partnerships, Park to Broad leads business growth and attraction efforts to build opportunities for employment and wealth-creation and amplify the strength of the local economy Member Duties : The Community Business Liaison will...

For 19 years, Feast of Justice has provided hope to food-insecure families in Northeast Philadelphia. Nearly 6000 households rely upon our fresh-forward, culturally-relevant, full choice food pantry, as well as nutrition, health, counseling, and other resources that can stabilize a household, as well as the wider community. Through established programs across 2 sites, we see and serve over 500 families each week–families who rely upon our support to address their hunger, meet their needs, and offer a source of ongoing community with hope. Member Duties : The overarching goal is to grow the capacity of Feast of Justice to address food insecurity in our local community. Specifically, the VISTA will participate in the following areas, choosing a main focus area that best meets their interest and skills: Volunteer Coordination–to assist with coordinating and empowering over 800 volunteers who, in total, contribute 450 hours weekly to our mission. Strategic...

The Petey Greene Program supports the academic and career goals of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people through high-quality tutoring and other educational programs, while serving to educate our volunteers and the public on the manifest injustice in our carceral system. Founded in 2008, the PGP has supported over 20,000 students in over 130 correctional facilities and reentry programs, recruiting more than 8,500 volunteer tutors and instructors from 30 universities in seven states and DC. In 2015, The PGP expanded to Philadelphia following a 2013 impact-study that showed that the PGP’s New Jersey tutoring program accelerated test score progress by more than two (2.3) full grade levels during one semester (Kowalski, 2013) In 2024, in Philadelphia we trained over 90 volunteers and provided career readiness and educational support to over 200 currently and formerly incarcerated students. We educate the general public on the systemic economic, social and legal inequities that...

Rutgers–Camden Community Engagement develops and sustains partnerships that connect university resources with community-identified priorities. Operating as a resource hub, the office brings together community partners, students, faculty, and campus stakeholders to advance collaborative initiatives that strengthen Camden neighborhoods. This VISTA position was developed directly with the City of Camden, building on a three-year, grant-funded collaboration that included joint planning of senior-focused initiatives, shared logistical coordination, and co-leadership of engagement efforts. As a result, this role is grounded in clearly identified community needs rather than internal institutional priorities. The goal of this VISTA project is to strengthen the network of support available to senior residents by building durable connections among the City of Camden Department of Senior Services, Rutgers–Camden resources, and community partners at the local, state, and national levels....