Recognizing AmeriCorps VISTA Joy Mosenfelder - Economic Opportunity

Even if you've never been to a Merrimack Valley Time Exchange gathering, Joy does such a thoughtful job sharing stories and pictures of her work on social media you'll often feel like you are actually there participating! She started the Merrimack Valley Time Exchange (i.e. a time bank), crafted a detailed curriculum on leadership skills for community gardening organizers, and has brought together residents from all different perspectives.

Joy has put so much effort into her sponsor organization, Coalition for a Better Acre (CBA), to make catalysts for long-term and sustainable community empowerment. Joy is definitely a model for a capacity-building VISTA whose impact would continue even if she left tomorrow.

One of the ways that Joy has inspired me to be a better VISTA, and organizer in general, is how clearly and passionately she describes her work to others. On her own time she frequently writes about her experiences on social media as an AmeriCorps VISTA and her work in Lowell. Joy serves as a great example of how one can appropriatley share to the broader community the profound impact AmeriCorps is having on the nation.

Overall, Joy combines well-implemented community organizing with a strong desire to highlight the impact of the community members she works with. Joy's dedication and ability to share captiativating stories from her work, serve as a model that would support the initiatives of individual VISTAs and of the AmeriCorps program as a whole.