The West Virginia Community Development Hub is excited to announce the newest addition to its staff. Melinda Griser joined the staff on May 17 as the first
VISTA to work out of the Hub office.
For over 40 years, VISTAs have been helping bring communities and individuals out of poverty. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act and created Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA).
Currently, nearly 6,000 VISTA members serve in hundreds of non-profit organizations and public agencies throughout the country working to promote literacy, improve health services, create businesses, increase housing opportunities or bridge the digital divide.
Melinda attended a week of Pre-Service Orientation in Atlanta, Georgia from May 10 to May 14 where she and over 150 other VISTAs learned what they will be committing themselves to the next year of their lives.
“I really enjoyed the training, the new friends and the network of people I developed in just the short amount of time I was there. I wasn’t expecting to learn as much as I did and to actually be able to walk away from the Pre-Service Orientation with a foundation of information that will assist me in my year at the Hub was pretty significant,” said Melinda.
As a VISTA for the Hub, Melinda will be responsible for a number of tasks. Melinda’s responsibilities will include enhancing, expanding and maintaining the Hub’s website and newsletter, and the development of a social media presence for the Hub. She will be building resources to improve communications between the Hub, its focus communities and the WV Community Development Network. She will be attending a variety of training seminars to enhance her skills in relation to the tasks she will be carrying out at the Hub. Community asset mapping and volunteer management training will be two major focuses for Melinda.
In regards to volunteer management training, Melinda will be assisting Community Collaboration Teams and project-specific teams in developing plans for recruiting and managing volunteers. She will also be working to get volunteers registered with the
VolunteerWV.org volunteer management system.
Melinda is originally from Pittsburgh and is currently residing in Morgantown. She will be graduating in the fall from West Virginia University with a Bachelors of Science in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Communication Studies.
