United Way of Southeast Delaware County – Meet our AmeriCorps*VISTA

Hi I’m Connie, and I am an AmeriCorps*VISTA at United Way of Southeast Delaware County. Choosing to participate in community service can come in many forms. There are many ways you can make a difference. I joined AmeriCorps*VISTA because I wanted to be a part of a collective solution where individuals who engage in service can have an impact over a larger amount of people. I consider membership in AmeriCorps as crucial to my participation in community service, as it unites all members in determining what is needed, how to fix what is needed and where to go when fixing is needed. It brings us together in helping us learn that others do care about their neighbors no matter where they live.

Meet Our Staff- Joslin Malanka, Americorps VISTA

Hi my name is Joslin Malanka, and I am the Americorps VISTA at United Way of Southeast Delaware County. I am originally from Washington, DC but moved to the Philadelphia area soon after completing my undergraduate studies in Political Science at the University of Delaware.

After graduating from the University of Delaware in spring of 2010, I knew I wanted to dedicate a year of my life in service to others so I decided to apply to the Americorps VISTA program. Americorps Volunteers in Service to America is a national program in which you apply to volunteer at an organization for a year term, and in that year you aid them in building their capacity. My role here at United Way of Southeast Delaware County has been to increase their advocacy initiative and increase their community engagement. For the past year, I have been the primary writer of this blog, “Live Out Loud,” and am responsible for United Way’s other social media outlets such as our newsletter, Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr. In my advocacy efforts, I organized United Way’s Letter Writing Campaign and Advocacy Workshop, and am currently working on putting together a permanent advocacy committee at this particular United Way. I also have worked on a few special projects, including a Born Learning Book Drive which collected around 2000 books for children ages 0- 6 and am hoping to plan an event for the books distribution!

This has been an amazing year working with United Way, and I am sad to be leaving at the end of this month. It has been an honor to serve this community, and I hope to return and see United Way of Southeast Delaware County become an even greater influence in Delaware County.