*Top: September, 2015 at UWFK's flooded office on N. Roosevelt.
*Bottom: June, 2016 at UWFK's very nice, new, and NOT flooded office on Maloney Ave
My year as an AmeriCorps VISTA was easily the most difficult of my life. In many ways, it was also the most rewarding. The poor VISTA pay (a stipend equivalent to the poverty level) required me, like many others in the Keys, to work several jobs. Still, the reality of living in paradise had its pluses. One day I’d work 16 hours in three different jobs and the next I’d be swimming in crystal clear water at a sandbar or listening to live music in a restaurant downtown, palm fronds waving above my head. I found that VISTA life in the Keys was often a series of vacillating highs and lows.
Although it sometimes feels like I’ve had little direct impact working as a VISTA, I can see trails of my work trickling into the community. The tangible benefits are difficult to quantify—do I measure them in dollars? In in-kind donations or persons served? Sure, I was able to help increase revenue, volunteer with our nonprofit partners, and participate in service projects benefitting students throughout the community. But with any capacity building position, the fruits of your labor are sometimes building blocks. Results aren’t always immediately apparent.
It’s easier to quantify the impact the VISTA service has had on me.
I got lucky to have UWFK as my host agency. The ultimate advantage of working with this organization was the freedom to learn as much as I desired—how to run and maintain a website, how to write grants, send out press releases, create and distribute newsletters, and compile data through an unnecessarily complicated back office system. I learned how to take meeting minutes. I organized a service project and spent time learning about the members and principles of the Key West Rotary. I listened to EqualityFlorida CEO speak at the Key West Business Guild and took an amazing class on conflict resolution through the Key West Chamber of Commerce.
Being challenged can often inspire personal, as well as professional growth. I have an intense fear of public speaking and am riddled with anxiety when forced to interact with large groups of people. A year ago, if you asked me to walk into a room full of strangers and talk to them, I wouldn’t have been able to. A year ago, if you had asked me to present a research report to over a dozen board members and coworkers, I wouldn’t have been able to. But thanks to consistent reassurance from this community, now I can.
Good support is crucial to the AmeriCorps program. I couldn’t have finished this term of service without the support of those around me—my boss (“Mom”) who was a constant source of positivity and encouragement, my coworkers who became like my sisters. I would’ve been lost without the unconditional support and guidance of UWFK’s board chair and some very special board members and community supporters. All of these people introduced me to their families and friends, took me into their homes, listened, advised, and propped me back up when exhaustion hit. Without them, I would’ve walked away from the VISTA program.
Nearing the end of my service year, I’m struck by all the little things I loved the most—Stuff the Bus deliveries, volunteer events with the board, and long drives up the Keys, leaving at dawn to watch the sunrise reflect across the water. I loved visiting our nonprofit partners to see the results of UWFK’s work in the community.
It’s true, the Keys are a uniquely special place, and AmeriCorps and United Way are superior organizations doing incredible good. But at the end of the day, it’s the UWFK board, staff, and community supporters that have made this experience so memorable.
Progress occurs because of the goodness and dedication of those “doing the work”. It occurs because of all you who run committees and organize supply drives and host volunteer events. You who sweat in the heat distributing school supplies, who take personal time off work to attend board meetings, who dedicate endless time, money, and energy to improving the community. You are the reason I volunteered a year of my life trying to make the world a better place. You are what inspires positive change and growth here in the Keys.
Thank you for leading by example and keep up the amazing work.
In service,
