Our House e-newsletter February & March 2012 | Page 15

AmeriCorps at Our House: pages 8 to 21

Left: Summer VISTA Josh Shipman leads a gardening class during Our House’s summer
youth program, My Picture Perfect Summer. Above: As Our House’s VISTA program grew,
we needed a VISTA to take the role of organizing the program. Rebecca Scissors, shown
here at a national service event at a library, was Our House’s first VISTA Leader.

summer feeding program which brings healthy meals to our
youth, and care for our little ones on a daily basis? It’s true—we
could not do what we do without the dedicated service of our
full-time and summer AmeriCorps members and VISTAs.
John F. Kennedy & Lyndon B. Johnson: VISTA begins
VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) was envisioned by
President John F. Kennedy as a national service corps “to help
provide urgently needed services in urban and rural poverty
areas.” In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed legislation
creating VISTA. It was a key tool in his War on Poverty.
Addressing the first group of VISTA members, President Johnson
said, “Your pay will be low; the conditions of your labor will
often 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.”