AmeriCorps Job Listing
AmeriCorps VISTA Opportunity
Philadelphia Legal Assistance is seeking qualified, enthusiastic applicants for an AmeriCorps VISTA position in the PHENND Fellows program.
AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program where individuals dedicate themselves to volunteering full time for one year at a non-profit organization (with the support of a modest stipend), and PLA is proud to host AmeriCorps VISTAs each year. Check out the position description below and apply here.
PHENND Fellows - PLA Farmworkers Project
Organizational Overviews:
PHENND (The Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development) is a 30-year-old consortium of over 25 colleges and universities in the Greater Philadelphia region. The consortium actively seeks to revitalize local communities and promote civic responsibility through service learning among the region's higher education institutions. The PHENND Fellows program fosters young non-profit leaders by giving them an opportunity to build capacity for local organizations through a variety of activities.
For more than 25 years, Philadelphia Legal Assistance (PLA) has provided free civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and families in Pennsylvania. While most of PLA’s clients live in Philadelphia, PLA also operates a statewide program, the Pennsylvania Farmworker Project (PFP), which, through legal assistance, education, and systemic advocacy helps empower immigrant farmworkers to advocate in the workplace and disrupt exploitative employer practices. Farmworkers are essential to Pennsylvania’s $10.9 billion agricultural industry, yet they are uniquely targeted because of socioeconomic, linguistic, and geographic isolation. Due to the legal complexities that the farmworker community faces, PFP prioritizes a more holistic model of legal representation by prioritizing each client's individual goals, and collaborating with them to develop a solution that goes beyond legal outcomes.
Member Duties: Through the Pennsylvania Farmworker Project, the VISTA will help increase the capacity of Philadelphia Legal Assistance to provide high-quality legal services to farmworkers across the state of Pennsylvania. The PHENND fellow will help increase PFP’s efficiency and effectiveness by establishing structures for outreach planning and expanding accessibility of outreach materials, strengthening our provider relationships and referral network, identifying new sustainable sources of funding, and developing an archive of quality training materials for new staff and volunteers. The PHENND Fellow will help an implement survey and forum-based assessment of farmworkers needs. The PHENND Fellow will use data collected from the 2021 and 2018 Needs Assessments to review change in client needs over time. The year three PHENND Fellow will create a system to monitor the outcomes of clients. The PHENND Fellow’s work will allow PFP to aid more farmworker families in escaping abusive employment situations and building stability into their lives.
Program Benefits: Living Allowance, Health Coverage*, SEPTA Monthly Key Pass, Training, Childcare assistance if eligible, Relocation Allowance, Choice of Education Award or End of Service Stipend. *For details about AmeriCorps VISTA healthcare benefits, please visit http://www.vistacampus.gov/healthcare
Terms: Permits attendance at school during off hours, Permits working at another job during off hours.
Service Areas: Education, Community Outreach.
Skills: Fund raising/Grant Writing , Computers/Technology, General Skills, Education, Law, Non-Profit Management, Recruitment, Communications, Community Organization, Public Speaking, Team Work, Social Services, Conflict Resolution, Writing/Editing