Gain valuable experience and give back to your community through service with First Steps AmeriCorps. Our AmeriCorps members engage directly with families and communities, helping to ensure that all children start school ready to reach their highest potential.
South Carolina First Steps is recruiting five (5) VISTAs to use their talents to increase the capacity of 46 nonprofit affiliates, known as local partnerships, to support families with young children. The 5 VISTA members will operate as a team to brainstorm and execute plans to influence the nonprofits operations in these focus areas:
Communications - Storytelling allows for families to tell their experience. Two (2) individuals will concentrate on collecting the experiences of families in SC through blogs, photography, video, and other visual communications designed to inform and create change.
Fundraising - Raising dollars to support new initiatives for families. One (1) individual will focus on building community partnerships and generating ideas to increase donations for family support services in SC.
Volunteer & Partnership Development - Nonprofits need volunteers to make change happen. One (1) individual will create a volunteer pipeline for 46 nonprofits. Building relationships, recruiting, training, and project management of volunteers will improve the performance of family programs.
Nonprofit Management - One (1) individual will influence change in 46 county nonprofit operations by creating the toolkits and other resources to make statewide family support services more efficient and effective.
*This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, genetic information, and military service. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
Up to 38 part-time service opportunities are available across the state and at the South Carolina First Steps office in Columbia, SC.
Two service positions, HIPPY Parent Educator & Family and Community Engagement, complete activities ranging from providing one-on-one support for parents to hosting outreach events about school readiness and local early childhood services.
First Steps AmeriCorps provides 2 stipends per month ranging from $204.28 to $550.00.
AmeriCorps members receive the Segal Education Award to pay down student loan debt or cover upcoming tuition costs. The award ranges from $1,718.25 to $4,546.50, and it is based on the number of hours completed during the 8 to 10 months of service.
AmeriCorps VISTA
12 months of service starting from the date you complete the virtual VISTA Member Orientaiton (VMO). Hours of service may be completed between 9:00 am to 5:00pm totaling 37.5 hours per week.
AmeriCorps National/ State
Serve your community for 10 months, from August 2021 to June 2022. Schedules are flexible and determined by the AmeriCorps member and the service site. Hours of service may be completed between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
To see how our First Steps AmeriCorps Members manage their busy schedules, take a look at our Day in the Life schedules.
AmeriCorps VISTA
AmeirCorps National/State
15 hours per week (450 Service hours) – $1,678.57
20 hours per week (675 Service hours)- $2,417.14
25 hours per week (900 Service hours)- $3,172.50
35 hours per week (1200 Service hours) -$4,441.50
VISTA Segal Education Award- $6,895.00
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and orientations are hosted virtually twice a month.
Translation services are available.
