Volunteers in service to America: Warriors for the poor and victims of COVID-19

摘要

The concept of voluntarism is ancient. But in the 1960s, poverty in the US and abroad was becoming more of a government concern. The US government established the Peace Corps, and then, in 1964, the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) programme. While Peace Corps volunteers servedexclusively outside the US, VISTAs were assigned to domestic anti-poverty programmes. Both programmes live on today, VISTA under the broader federal AmeriCorps programme. VISTAs are now engaged in a different war — a struggle to save communities from the devastation of the COVID-19 virus.This paper suggests how an expanded VISTA programme could save both lives and jobs.