My AmeriCorps*VISTA position is at a place called the Community Center of St. Bernard. St. Bernard parish is directly east of Orleans Parish, right past the 9th ward. Simply put, the Center provides low-income residents the resources they need to meet basic needs while living in St. Bernard. They provide a variety of services, the most popular being the food pantry (where a family can come and get a free box of food once a week). Something that they also do that I like is they have all these desks lining their space where they invite other local non-profits and organizations to come in and provide their services. Organizations like Food Stamps, Louisiana Spirit (crisis counseling), and legal and medical aid organizations. So the place becomes a kind of one-stop location to people who are in need of help.

During my year I am supposed to do the following (as far as I can tell): Optimize their social media/networking outlets, help develop an online fundraising campaign for the  christmas season, and to create a catalogue of cause-based marketing examples. Right now I am still toying around with different social networking sites to see what might work best to keep in contact with other non-profit organizations, volunteers that pass through the center, and local St. Bernard residents.

Holler for updates.