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Schilawski joins VISTA program
Tina Schilawski, Pine River, was recently sworn in as a member of the AmeriCorps VISTA program.
VISTA is the national service program designed specifically to fight poverty. Founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993, VISTA has been on the front lines in the fight against poverty in America for more than 40 years.
Schilawski was assigned to the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, in Pine River, to help develop various programs that will help RREAL continue its work making solar power accessible to people of all income levels.
Specific projects she will be working on include developing the private donor and fundraising program, developing an HVAC curriculum for installing solar heating conductors and building RREAL's Web site to include resources and information concerning solar thermal technologies and fuel poverty.
With the help of the Initiative Foundation, RREAL has been matched with three VISTA volunteers since its inception. Graham Wright, who served 2006-2007, has been instrumental in the research and development of the industry standard air heat collector, the RREAL SPF.
Tim Ollhoff, who is beginning his second year of VISTA service, helped to develop the organization's youth and community outreach program, is an active grant writer and is currently researching RREAL's potential participation in the emerging carbon credit market.
Originally from Decatur, Ill., Schilawski has been a resident of Minnesota since 2003. Graduating with her bachelor's degree in biology, her focus has now shifted to the nonprofit sector and she is currently enrolled as a student in the master's in advocacy and political leadership program at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Schilawski will spend one year as a VISTA member serving at RREAL. In exchange for her year of full-time service, she will receive a modest living allowance along with health insurance, training and travel and relocation expenses.
When she completes her service, she will receive either a $1,200 stipend or an education award of $4,725 that she can use to help pay for further schooling or vocational training or to pay off qualified student loans.
Today, nearly 7,000 VISTA members serve in hundreds of nonprofit organizations and public agencies throughout the country - working to fight literacy, improve health services, create businesses, increase housing opportunities or bridge the digital divide.
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