In our VISTA Spotlight, our OneStar AmeriCorps VISTA members share in their own words about the transformative experience of serving with nonprofits and agencies in Texas working to eliminate poverty.
Over the past year, I have served as a Development & Community Engagement AmeriCorps VISTA at Crossroads Community Services. I wasn’t sure what to do after graduating from Santa Clara University last summer, but I did know that I had always been passionate about social justice and wanted to do something that actually helped people in a tangible way. At SCU, I worked at our community service center, establishing relationships and volunteer programs with local nonprofits focused on food and housing insecurity. When I found out about AmeriCorps, I knew that would be a natural next step. Food is one of the most basic human needs and there is plenty for everyone, yet our systems are so broken that millions of people in the US don’t have regular access to affordable, healthy food. This May, Feeding America reported that Texas is now the #1 state in food insecurity. There is a lot of work to be done, and Crossroads is shaping the future of food security with its’ research and unique food distribution systems. Although my year of service is coming to a close, I am glad to have taken an active role in the Food is Medicine and food justice movements and will continue to support the community however I can.