VISTA ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION (vad)
New York Campus Compact – AmeriCorps VISTA
VISTA Assignment Description (VAD)
Host Institution:
Host Office:
Program Year:
Mercy College
Center for Student Success and Engagement
1
Community Needs
Statement:
Locally, Bronx County (the location of Mercy College’s second-largest campus and
adjacent to Westchester County, the site of Mercy College’s main campus) has the highest
population of Hispanic constituents by percentage and size in New York State. The Bronx
is overall comprised of a population that is 33.9% black, 51.2% Hispanic and 14.9% other
ethnic and racial groups. And, while the national rate of Americans holding a Bachelors
degree or above is 27.2%, in the Bronx that rate is only 17.6%. This translates to 17.9% of
the black population and 11.2 % of the Hispanic population in that county.
Goal Statement:
GOAL 1
Community
ACTIVITY 1
ACTION STEPS
Not surprisingly, the correlation between college completion and socio-economic status is
strong. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median earnings of individuals with less
than a ninth grade education, as of 2007, was $16,615, while high school graduates
earned $31,337, holders of bachelor’s degree earned $56,826, and individuals with
professional degrees earned $100,000. As of 2009, in the Bronx 28.5% of families live
below the poverty level as compared to 14.2% in New York State. It is imperative that we
address the needs of Bronx residents and create a strategy to help them get to and
graduate from college.
Mercy Gives Back will provide a structured opportunity for Mercy College’s constituents,
including students, alumni and faculty, to provide service geared toward fighting poverty
in the surrounding high-needs communities through engagement and empowerment of
community members to build sustainable, long-term solutions aimed at closing the
education gap. It is our belief that the College can help increase the capacity of
individuals in surrounding low-income neighborhoods to become more self-reliant by
engendering the preparation, readiness and expectation of college attainment among
residents through strategic outreach.
Develop and enhance support for a mentoring program to increase college attainment of
students at P.S. 46, P.S. 85 and Harry S. Truman High School in the Bronx.
Collaborate with key officials at P.S. 46, P.S. 85 and Truman High
School and members of the community to develop the mission,
goals, model and desired outcomes for the program.
Conduct regular planning committee meetings
Formulate strategic plan, including target population at the
elementary and high schools, topics for mentoring and tutoring
Research best practices for mentoring and tutoring programs
Develop timeline for rollout, including pilot program for Spring
2012 and expansion for Fall 2012
Identify possible Mercy College volunteers
ACTIVITY 2
ACTION STEPS
Develop intellectual and financial resources for the program
Work with experienced faculty in the education and counseling
TIMELINE
September 2011 –
August 2012
September 2011 –
December 2011
August 2011 –
September 2011
September 2011 –
October 2011
October 2011 –
December 2011
TIMELINE
October 2011 –
programs, as well as the college opportunity programs, to create a
training handbook and training modules for student volunteers
Research and submit grants to fund mentoring program
ACTIVITY 3
Implement pilot program for Spring 2012
Recruit Mercy College student volunteers, including PACT students
ACTION STEPS
January 2012
October 2011 –
June 2012
TIMELINE
October 2011 –
November 2011
Collect feedback from high school students, parents and Mercy
May 2010
College volunteers to use to adjust implementation in Fall 2012
MILESTONES: GOAL 1
INDICATOR
TARGET
INSTRUMENT
PERIOD
Recruit, train and place volunteers
Number of volunteers
Volunteer
recruited, trained and
25
Q3
participation
placed as mentors
Develop training handbook and
Documents created and
module
vetted by appropriate
2
Handbooks
Q3
staff
Mentees report change in attitude
Surveys of elementary
50% of
toward college attainment
and high school students participants
pre- and postwith
Surveys
Q4
participation in
changed
mentoring program
attitudes
GOAL 2
Develop and enhance support for Parent Centers at Mercy College’s Bronx campus and at
Community
P.S. 46 and P.S. 85.
ACTIVITY 1
Collaborate with Mercy College program coordinator, principals,
TIMELINE
parent leaders and teachers to develop and support mission, goals
and outcomes desired for parent resource centers in Bronx schools
ACTION STEPS
ACTIVITY 2
Facilitate regular meetings with the school coordinator and
community contacts
Assist in formulating a plan for rollout of programs, including
mission, goals, outcomes
Identify and recruit potential parents to participate
Develop online resources for the parent centers to ensure
sustainability
Develop fundraising and partnership opportunities
August 2011 –
July 2012
August 2011 –
October 2011
August 2011 –
November 2011
TIMELINE
November 2011 –
February 2012
November 2011 –
June 2012
Research and submit grant proposals
ACTION STEPS
Cultivate relationships with parents involved in the centers who
may become future leaders for the initiative
Locate and design space for parent centers
MILESTONES: GOAL 2
Submit grant applications
Identify parents to serve as
volunteers in the school-based
centers
INDICATOR
Number of applications
submitted
Number of volunteers
recruited
TARGET
Spring 2012
August 2011 –
November 2011
INSTRUMENT
PERIOD
1
Application
Q3
2
Volunteer
Agreements
Q4
GOAL 3
Develop one-day service project in the Bronx community
Community
ACTIVITY 1
ACTION STEPS
Coordinate with community leaders in the Bronx to develop the
one-day service initiatives
Coordinate with committee of community leaders to develop a
vision, plan and timeline for the community project
Research best practices for such programs at other organizations
Develop simultaneous effort on Mercy College campus to
complement community outreach
Raise funds for beautification projects
Host pilot project in Spring 2012
MILESTONES: GOAL 3
INDICATOR
Host day of service and recruit
volunteers from the community
and Mercy College
Secure resources for project
GOAL 4
30 participants (15 from
Mercy College, 15 from
the community) at one
school site in the Bronx
$500 raised to support
project
TARGET
TIMELINE
August 2011 –
June 2012
August 2011 –
December 2011
August 2011 –
December 2011
November 2011 –
March 2012
March 2012
INSTRUMENT
PERIOD
30
participants
Volunteer record
log
Q3
$500
Cash / in-kind
donations
Q3
Develop and enhance student volunteerism and ethos of civic responsibility on campus
Campus
ACTIVITY 1
ACTION STEPS
ACTIVITY 2
Create a community service clearinghouse to collect data on student
service activities
Develop a system for collecting volunteer placement info and
disseminating it, as well as a method for tracking student volunteer
hours
Develop a handbook for volunteer programs and a college-wide
training program
Develop a plan for communication to the Mercy College community
about service and engagement
Host a community engagement award ceremony
TIMELINE
October 2011
October 2011 –
December 2011
TIMELINE
May 2012
ACTION STEPS
Develop a community service newsletter to be sent to students,
faculty and alumni about campus engagement opportunities and
Spring 2012
successes
MILESTONES: GOAL 3
INDICATOR
TARGET
INSTRUMENT
PERIOD
Develop database to track
volunteer hours and commitments
Community Service Award
Ceremony occurs and is wellattended
Community service newsletter
distributed
Database developed and
rolled out to a pilot
group of students
Honor students, alumni
and faculty for
community participation
Sent once per month
during second semester
to faculty, students,
alumni
1 database
developed
Database
Q2
50
attendees
Sign-in log
Q3
4
newsletters
Newsletter
Q4