The AmeriCorps VISTA program began in 1965. NeighborWorks America's VISTA program launched in 2009, and since that time more than 1,000 volunteers have completed service with the NeighborWorks networks.

The line of faculty members snaked around the meeting room at the NeighborWorks Training Institute in Chicago in August 2023. The task was to line up according to who had been a part of NeighborWorks America's premiere, professional training the longest. Peg Barringer, an economic development practitioner, and Ethan Pope, a community development professional who has taught courses on subjects from financial fitness for counselors to homebuyer education methods, stood together at the head of the line. 

With a national network of community-based organizations and its strong partnership with the Wells Fargo Foundation, NeighborWorks America continues to support housing counseling services for renters and homeowners facing distress.  

Since 2017, with generous support from the Kresge Foundation, NeighborWorks America has strategically invested in creative community development within its network of nearly 250 nonprofits. 

Rebecca Hatfield's first day as president and CEO of Avesta Housing in Maine also happened to be her daughter's first day of kindergarten. Hatfield woke up extra early so she'd have time to wait at the bus stop with her daughter, whose name and teacher were written on a tag hanging over the dress that her daughter had picked out for her first day. 

"She wanted to be perfect, and I wanted to be perfect," Hatfield recalls. 

Rebecca Hatfield's first day as president and CEO of Avesta Housing in Maine also happened to be her daughter's first day of kindergarten. Hatfield woke up extra early so she'd have time to wait at the bus stop with her daughter, whose name and teacher were written on a tag hanging over the dress that her daughter had picked out for her first day. 

"She wanted to be perfect, and I wanted to be perfect," Hatfield recalls. 

Rebecca Hatfield's first day as president and CEO of Avesta Housing in Maine also happened to be her daughter's first day of kindergarten. Hatfield woke up extra early so she'd have time to wait at the bus stop with her daughter, whose name and teacher were written on a tag hanging over the dress that her daughter had picked out for her first day. 

"She wanted to be perfect, and I wanted to be perfect," Hatfield recalls. 

Housing and Neighborhood Development Services (HANDS) in New Jersey is a nonprofit with an average of just six employees. But being part of NeighborWorks’ AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program means the organization can do more. The VISTA program pairs full-time volunteers with service positions meant to make an impact in education, economic opportunity and environmental stewardship.

Housing and Neighborhood Development Services (HANDS) in New Jersey is a nonprofit with an average of just six employees. But being part of NeighborWorks’ AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program means the organization can do more. The VISTA program pairs full-time volunteers with service positions meant to make an impact in education, economic opportunity and environmental stewardship.