Position Type: VISTA
Service Commitment: August 25, 2025 – August 24, 2026
Final Application Deadline: July 15, 2025
Car required? Yes
Driver’s License Required? Yes
Position Summary:
The mission of The Paradise Center is to preserve and repurpose the former Paradise Elementary School for a second century of public service as a community center, visitor center, and arts center to benefit Sanders County residents, people from surrounding areas, and visitors from many national and international locations. While serving long-term residents in the community, they also focus on youth through art classes, summer camps, outreach programs, and public acknowledgement of their artistic achievements.
The goal of this project is to strengthen the Paradise Center school preservation and repurposing initiative. The Paradise Center addresses many community needs: a place to hold family gatherings and community events, studios and workshops for art classes, performance space for local theater productions and visiting performers, exhibits celebrating Paradise’s rich history; and outside trail and playground for adult and youth exercise and recreation. The VISTA member will create initiatives to broaden program reach, identify new volunteers and leadership, and continue to build a firmer financial foundation.
Montana Campus Network for Civic Engagement (MCNCE) serves as the intermediary for this project. MCNCE is a CEO-led coalition of colleges and universities that support civic engagement, service learning, and volunteerism across the state. Every year we place cohorts of full-time, part-time, and summer AmeriCorps members with schools, colleges, nonprofits, and government agencies in Montana. The AmeriCorps projects we facilitate increase educational equity, break down barriers between higher education and community organizations, and address the root causes of poverty in communities across the state.
Professional Skills You Will Gain
- Communications
- Event Planning
- Intercultural Relations
- Leadership
- Marketing
- Nonprofit Administration
- Partnership Development
- Partnership Management
- Program Development
- Public Speaking
- Rural Community Outreach
- Grant Writing
- Exhibition Evaluation and Interpretation
- Teamwork
- Time Management
- Volunteer Recruitment and Management