VISTA Opportunity at Whole Village Family Resource Center

BE PART OF A NATIONAL EFFORT TO RAISE PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY.

Help Granite United Way bring the community together to alleviate poverty in central New Hampshire by providing financial education, financial coaching and improving job skills. We are seeking an energetic individual to fill our current VISTA opening.

 

Granite United Way’s Whole Village Family Resource Center in Plymouth, New Hampshire serves as a critical service hub for low-income populations, bringing together local agencies that provide affordable childcare, Head Start programming, employment training, adult education services, and housing supports under one roof. Annually, Whole Village provides information and referral services to over 8,000 visitors from 19 rural towns in the area, connecting individuals and families to benefits including food supports, benefits access services, free tax preparation, and health care navigation. Whole Village Family Resource Center's mission is to strengthen families while building a community that supports the healthy development of all children. They host 14 social service agencies to enhance individual and family well-being, help create more positive futures, and provide centralized resources to the community.

 

 

The rural area of southern Grafton County presents barriers to economic stability for local families, as one in eight children lives below the federal poverty line and 33% of families report a household income under living wage. Much of the employment in this area is seasonal, making it difficult to manage financially, with low-paying service jobs and long periods of unemployment. Several federally-supported programs to assist struggling families closed satellite locations in the area, leaving those in need more than an hour’s drive away from the resources they need to establish financial stability. 

 

Our VISTA project is designed to build the capacity of our financial education efforts by engaging the community in this effort.  Our AmeriCorps member will work collaboratively with the fourteen agencies based at Whole Village Family Resource Center, and other local entities, to empower individuals and families living in poverty to obtain employment and improve their financial education and management skills. He/she will be an important team player, building the necessary coalitions to engage volunteers that will support and enhance programs that provide job training/placement and/or other skill development services, financial education/coaching, tax preparation programs and increase access to financial services.

This exciting opportunity will bring our communities together around issues of poverty, unemployment, underemployment, financial literacy and job training/placement and/or other skill development services. Our AmeriCorps member will identify the strengths of our beautiful region of central New Hampshire, while identifying and removing the barriers to a brighter financial future for our residents.

 

Those interested in the Americorps VISTA opportunity can email Susan Amburg, Director of Whole Village Family Resource Center at susan.amburg@graniteuw.org or  call 603.536.3720.