When it awarded an AmeriCorps*VISTA to the Service-Learning Office at Berkshire Community College, Massachusetts Campus Compact provided the office an opportunity to expand its reach and impact both on campus and in the community.

The Massachusetts Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA, Leehe Shmueli, will serve as Community Engagement Coordinator at Berkshire Community College’s Service-Learning Office. Her role with the Service-Learning Office will be to strengthen partnerships with the Pittsfield Public Schools and other community organizations. She will also serve as a mentor to college students both on and off campus.

Leehe Shmueli comes to Berkshire Community College after having already completed a term of service as an AmeriCorps*VISTA in Niagara Falls. In that position, she managed the creation and implementation of leadership development programs for both youth and adults. She also coordinated service days and community garden projects to impact the University and the greater community.

Massachusetts Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA Program
Through the MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA program, 27 AmeriCorps*VISTA members are placed on host campuses throughout Massachusetts to serve as community service and service learning specialists. They act as mentors, trainers, and resource gatherers for their assigned colleges and universities. One AmeriCorps* VISTA leader is placed at the Massachusetts Campus Compact to assist with overall implementation of the program. The MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA program helps colleges and universities to better respond to pressing issues facing low income communities by improving the quality of campus community service and service learning programs, and by increasing the number of students coordinating programs and directly serving in the community.

AmeriCorps*VISTA
AmeriCorps*VISTA is a national service program in which volunteers live in the communities they serve, designing programs that will continue after they complete their service. Part of the AmeriCorps national network of service programs, AmeriCorps*VISTA has been meeting the needs of under-served communities since 1965. Over the years, more than 100,000 committed individuals have joined forces with 12,000 local sponsors- public agencies and nonprofit groups -to strengthen communities across the nation.