VISTA was founded in 1965 as a national service program to fight poverty in America. The acronym stands for Volunteers In Service To America. In 1993, VISTA was incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs. Today, more than 46 million Americans live in poverty. AmeriCorps VISTA taps the skills, talents and passion of more than 8,000 Americans annually to support community efforts to overcome poverty. AmeriCorps VISTA members are passionate and committed to their mission to bring individuals and communities out of poverty. Members make a year-long, full-time commitment to serve on a specific project at a nonprofit organization or public agency. They focus their efforts to build the organizational, administrative, and financial capacity of organizations that fight illiteracy, improve health services, foster economic development, and otherwise assist low-income communities. Learn more about the AmeriCorps VISTA program here.