Energy Communities VISTA: Community Engagement Coordinator - Indiana County Thrives
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About The Position
Join as our Energy Communities VISTA & catalyze a just transition for Indiana County, PA. Help us leverage new skills and relationships for innovative economic growth in our coal-impacted communities. As energy opportunities expand, coal and power facility jobs are declining across the United States. The Energy Communities AmeriCorps VISTA project will develop and advance programs that increase environmental awareness and stewardship, job training, employment pathways, and access to existing federal and community resources for low-income individuals living in energy transition communities. Energy Communities AmeriCorps members will serve low-income energy communities that are experiencing energy transformations. VISTA members will be placed with local organizations to help assess environmental impacts, identify existing supports, and develop economic transformation and revitalization goals with their communities. IMPORTANT: Please note that this VISTA term is: Full time, 1-year in length, Begins in November 2024 and ends in November 2025. The living allowance for Energy Communities VISTAs is $88.39 per day (including weekends). This is equivalent to $15.51/hour ($32,262.35/year). For more information about Energy Communities AmeriCorps, please visit our website. For any questions, please contact Shelby Street at To apply, please use the AmeriCorps link here. About the Site and Position: Indiana County Thrives (ICT) is an inclusive, community-led economic and workforce development initiative focused on creating equitable opportunities in the coal-impacted communities of Indiana County, PA. ICT draws strength from its partnership with The Center for Community Growth and Whole Unity Inc., who have been working to address the needs of marginalized communities and strengthen community bonds. ICT's focus is to build capacity by facilitating strategic workshops that advance place-based development. Our program seeks to connect each community's unique identity, assets, and ambitions, to create innovative pathways for thriving places to live, work, and play. Our efforts have gained momentum with the addition of 2 DOE capacity building programs. With the help of our VISTA, we're poised to leverage these new skills, relationships, and the groundwork from our existing programs to achieve a just transition. The VISTA project will be instrumental in facilitating ICT's mission to bring about new, diverse economic and workforce opportunities. Their skills will help us in executing our workshops, engaging with stakeholders, reporting on results, finding funding, and developing the partnerships that will turn community-led innovation strategies into actionable steps towards building diverse and robust local economies that follow the Department of Labor's good jobs principles. Indiana, the county seat where we are centralized, is a welcoming college town, surrounded by beautiful natural landscapes, with shops, nightlife, and street festivals. ICT works within communities in the 9 municipalities impacted by the closure of coal-fired power plants. Each of these communities are identified as Environmental Justice Communities by PennEnviroScreen and contain significant levels of low-income, unemployment, disability, and other environmental and health-related impacts. For the year of service, we are prepared to assist with finding living arrangements and covering a portion of each month's rent to ensure that the burden on the VISTA does not exceed 20% of their monthly income (maximum $200).
