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Model Immigrant Integration Practices
AmeriCorps/VISTA National Service
 Every year more than 70,000 Americans engage in community service through AmeriCorps and VISTA programs housed at some 3,000 public and private agencies around the country. Increasingly, these programs are addressing the challenge of immigrant integration. AmeriCorps and VISTA volunteers, many with multilingual and cross-cultural skills, work to build bridges between immigrant communities and educational and human service systems. Examples include the Center for New North Carolinians in Greensboro, which deploys more than 50 members to strengthen the cross-cultural capacity of more than 25 local organizations; the New Americans Citizenship Project of Maryland, which provides educational and other support services to help eligible immigrants through the naturalization process; and the International Institute of New Jersey, which helps refugees resettle in the United States. In Philadelphia, the Department of Commerce uses VISTA volunteers to provide business development training and services to immigrant entrepreneurs. Last year, the Migration Policy Institute presented its prestigious E Pluribus Unum Prize to Project Shine, based at Temple University in Philadelphia, which endeavors to help older immigrants prepare for citizenship, acquire health literacy skills, and engage in meaningful civic roles. These community service programs, under the banner of AmeriCorps, are a valuable resource for immigrant integration.
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