One of the largest VISTA projects in the state of Tennessee, the South Cumberland Plateau AmeriCorps VISTA Project serves an economically depressed region of rural Appalachia. The program is jointly sponsored by the University of the South and South Cumberland Community Fund, supporting 14 VISTA projects focused on education, economic opportunity, and healthy futures. Service projects span a wide range of need in our community—from hunger relief, to opioid prevention and recovery, to childhood wellness through trauma-informed care, and much more.
Contact VISTA Coordinator, Stephanie Colchado Kelley at snkelley@sewanee.edu or apply directly by creating a profile on the AmeriCorps VISTA site
There’s never been a better time to serve. Join our team of 16 AmeriCorps VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America) on the beautiful South Cumberland Plateau! VISTAs work to alleviate poverty by building capacity within community organizations that address issues of health, education, and economic opportunity.
The Summer Associate Program operates for eight weeks each summer to alleviate poverty and improve health and educational outcomes for the children of the South Cumberland Plateau.
Our program matches local non-profit and governmental organizations with AmeriCorps VISTA Members committed to the sustainable alleviation of poverty. These pairings benefit our community as a whole, its service organizations and the individual VISTAs who serve. For more information contact Stephanie Coalchado Kelley at snkelley@sewanee.edu.
Our VISTA Members hail from across the United States. Each holds a heart for service, a bachelor’s degree, and a commitment to alleviating poverty in our rural South Cumberland Plateau region.
The Summer Associate Program operates for eight weeks each summer to alleviate poverty and improve health and educational outcomes for the children of the South Cumberland Plateau.
The South Cumberland Summer Meal Program provides kids and teens with free summer meals and summer fun at approximately 15 locations throughout Grundy, Franklin, and Marion Counties. The popular program combats hunger and learning loss during the summer months by making meals available to all children 18 and under.
The 2022 Summer Meal Program will operate June 7 – July 29 at locations providing enrichment programs for youth such as summer reading, camps, tutoring and VBS. Watch newspapers, posted flyers and social media for exact distribution times and locations throughout the summer.
Meals are distributed by a cohort of 20 Summer Associate VISTAs, McClurg Dining Hall staff, and a large number of community volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a Summer Associate VISTA, a meal distribution location or in volunteering with meal distribution please contact VISTA Coordinator, Stephanie Colchado Kelley, at snkelley@sewanee.edu.
The meal program is a partnership between the South Cumberland Plateau AmeriCorps VISTA Project at the University of the South, the Office of Civic Engagement, the University McClurg Dining Hall, and the Tennessee Department of Human Services, South Cumberland Community Fund and numerous community partners throughout the South Cumberland Plateau.
