Last week, we area VISTAs staffed an Ohio Benefit Bank table at the Erie Street Market in Toledo. The day was productive: I learned more about some area programs from other agencies, met a lady whose church might become an OBB site, and witnessed a beautiful collaboration that inspired my submitted article for the National Service Newsletter that I'd agreed to write before I had anything to write about.
One of the best things about my work as an Ohio Benefit Bank community trainer is the frequent opportunity to witness people coming together to help someone in need solve a problem.
I was recently sitting at the Ohio Benefit Bank table at a community resource fair in Toledo when a man approached a nearby table asking for help finding affordable eyewear.
Overhearing the conversation, a VISTA leader sitting next to me jumped in and offered a few low-cost options she had recently heard about. As the three continued to talk, other questions and issues arose, each of which could be addressed by other nearby VISTAs, who were able to explain a program offered by their site or point the man to another possible resource at the fair or in the community.
By the end of the conversation, the man had a handful of pamphlets, web sites to check out, phone numbers to call, answers to all his questions – and a grateful, relieved smile stretched across his face.
To me, this was a great illustration of how Americorps members are uniquely positioned on the ground as repositories of community resource information and willing and eager to put their heads together toward solving a need in the community.
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