Prosperous Partnership with AmeriCorps

Greetings! My name is James Swinchoski and I am the current Economic Prosperity VISTA at Berkshire United Way – in partnership with the AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program. The VISTA program is a national service program designed to help end poverty. My tenure will be from August 2018 to August 2019 as a part of an AmeriCorps year of service.

James Swinchoski, AmeriCorps VISTA intern in Economic Prosperity.

I am a recent graduate of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies. I held concentrations in Psychology and Sociology – with a double minor in Social Work and Social Justice Studies. My aim with wedding these programs together was to learn about community organization on a micro and macro level as well as creating positive change our community.

I previously interned with the North Adams Friendship Center – helping them survey those in need of meal support and social services. I also helped them with web development and assisted with the food pantry, while I honed my grant writing skills and so much more.

In the coming year, I will be working with Berkshire United Way on their Economic Prosperity Impact Council (EPIC) and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs, assisting our with free tax preparation and recruiting young people to the Berkshires and helping them get the training they need to thrive here (EPIC).

I am incredibly excited about this opportunity to build a stronger community and have had a great couple of weeks here at Berkshire United Way. I will be posting updates from time to time, so expect to hear more from me in the weeks and months ahead!

Warmest regards,

James, VISTA Volunteer