Dana Bakirtjy, a recent graduate of Virginia Tech, is now working full-time at Row New York through an Americorps VISTA grant. Dana is our communications associate, working to broaden the organization’s reach and influence. Below, she recounts her experience at her recent VISTA training in Boston, MA.
I, as most VISTAS have experienced, am often given quizzical looks when I tell people what program I’m a part of. Although not as well-known as its big brother Americorps, VISTA, or Volunteers In Service To America, is a national governmental program specifically dedicated to addressing poverty. A one year program, it places full-time ‘volunteers’ (such as myself!) in underserved areas with the mission of supporting the community in a targeted way.
As part of the VISTA experience, all volunteers go to a PSO, or Pre Service Orientation. It’s here that the organization prepares participants for their year of service. A four day marathon of travel, learning and meeting new people, my PSO was an incredible experience.
Over four days, 150 VISTAs from across the North East and I were involved in many difficult discussions and taught several lasting lessons. We discussed what poverty meant to us as well as brainstormed its causes and possible solutions. We set goals for our year of service—not only what we want to accomplish for our organizations but also what we want to accomplish for ourselves. One specific goal of mine for my year with Row New York is to develop such good relationships with the media that outlets come to us for comments and stories instead of the other way around.
In addition to these discussions, we were also taught skills such as volunteer recruitment and retention, communication skills and fundraising techniques to use to help our organizations succeed. Each of these concepts was followed up with practice sessions to further envelope us in the concepts. I’m especially excited to implement the media promotion best practices we learned to expand Row New York’s media presence!
At PSO I fully learned the extent of the good that VISTA does. My placement with Row New York is one of over 100 placements in New York City alone, all of which make a marked difference in the quality of life of this city’s wonderful inhabitants. I’m delighted that I have this amazing opportunity to make a difference and am excited to jump in even deeper with Row New York!
