I am currently serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, Kentucky. AmeriCorps is like a domestic version of the Peace Corps, and VISTA stands for Volunteers in Service to America. While other branches of AmeriCorps engage in direct service like disaster clean-up, VISTAs build capacity for organizations that seek to eradicate poverty. We write grants, establish or improve volunteer management systems, create marketing materials, and take on many other tasks that allow the organizations we serve to grow without having to pay an extra employee. That’s where the “volunteer” part comes in: I am paid through a government stipend totaling $900 a month, which comes out to around $5.50 an hour, 40 hours a week. Stipends are set at or around 100% of the federal poverty line because it is important for VISTAs to live near the people they are serving and understand how systemic poverty affects both individuals and communities. VISTAs commit for one-year terms, and upon successful completion of service can elect to receive either $1,200 cash or close to $6,000 toward further education (master’s programs, certifications, etc.).
At the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), I am in charge of a literacy program called Braille Tales, which delivers free print-braille books to families with blind preschoolers. Braille is a raised-dot code read by touch (you’ve probably seen it on elevator buttons) that has allowed generations of people who are blind to access the world of literature. Before they begin kindergarten, children must learn basic literacy skills like orienting books properly, turning pages in order, and tracing the words in a left to right progression, but because public libraries and bookstores rarely stock braille children’s books, most children who are blind have no access to the books they will eventually learn to read. Braille Tales books contain regular print as well as braille, so that parents who do not know braille can read to their child while the child traces the dots. I never imagined myself working with a program like this, but my training in English and writing have helped me in my daily tasks. Here is a sample of what I do, so you can see how your training in the MLL division might align with a VISTA position:
Writing: My boss has told me that my degree in writing and experience in the writing center were key to my application rising to the top. I write grants for the Braille Tales program, and work closely with the two full-time grantwriters at APH who give me feedback on my work. In each grant proposal, I tell the story of APH and explain how the Braille Tales program is fulfilling a need that no other service or organization is fulfilling. I also show how Braille Tales fits the particular foundation’s giving interests, which means I have to research the foundation’s giving history through their old tax forms. I interview Braille Tales program participants to get content for the narrative portion of some grants, and send out surveys to program participants. Many foundations want to see quantitative results before they will award your program any money, so I regularly collate this survey data to include in grant proposals to show that Braille Tales is helping families prepare their children for braille literacy. If you want to get into grantwriting, a VISTA position will give you the necessary experience to apply for full-time positions. In addition to grants, I write informational flyers about the program and articles for blogs and newsletters promoting the program.
Basic administration: I always thought it was corny when job applications say that you must be proficient in the Microsoft Office suite. I’m a Millennial, I thought to myself. Of course I know Microsoft Office. That was before I needed to “concatenate” in Excel or “mail merge” in Word. I’ve been surprised by how much time I’ve spent googling how to perform various functions in Microsoft Office. In addition to Excel and Word, I use the email platform Constant Contact to communicate with program participants, and a database called Donor Perfect to process program applications, compile lists of all current participants when a new book needs to be shipped, and keep track of who needs to be aged out of the program every month.
As a side note: the American Printing House for the Blind and other organizations like it regularly hire people with bachelor’s degrees in English to become braille transcibers. At APH, you don’t have to know braille to apply--once you’re hired, you go through training to receive a braille certification from the Library of Congress. You might transcribe textbooks, magazines, children’s books, anything that needs to be made available in braille. While it’s not part of my VISTA position, I’ve started to learn braille on my own. From what I can tell, transcription is a challenging and rewarding career with great job security, as not many people know braille.
Best of luck to graduates and everyone looking for jobs! If you want to know more about VISTA or APH, Dr. Karnehm-Esh can give you my contact information.
Hannah Ozmun is a December 2015 graduate of the Writing program and the John Wesley Honors College at Indiana Wesleyan. After AmeriCorps, she hopes to pursue doctoral studies in English and teach university courses in writing and literature. She and her husband
live in Louisville.