Stewards VISTA: Groundwork Hudson Valley

Stewards Individual Placements (Stewards/SIP) provides individuals with service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources. Participants work with federal agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofits building institutional capacity, developing community relationships, and supporting ecosystem health.

This position is a 365 day (1 year) public service term lasting from April 8, 2024 – April 6, 2025.

Living Allowance: $74.09/day ($27,042.85/year)

For more information regarding Stewards, please visit our website.

Through an array of capacity building support services, the new AmeriCorps VISTA Steward for Groundwork Hudson Valley will play an instrumental role in moving three high-profile environmental projects forward in the EJ community of Southwest Yonkers. Activities will involve organizing and refining project outreach efforts through an equity lens, organizing volunteer stewardship initiatives to increase and broaden their impact, and helping raise critically needed resources to sustain these programs over time. Projects include a major effort to transform a large neighborhood brownfield site into the Yonkers Greenway, an initiative developed and designed by the local community. Along an abandoned commuter rail line, the greenway will revitalize one of the city’s most socially and economically distressed neighborhoods. The second project involves the restoration of the Saw Mill River, an impaired tributary to the Hudson River flowing through the center of Southwest Yonkers around which are major public parks and commercial districts. This section of the stream is also at the bottom of the watershed and most subject to trash, fecal coliform and high stream velocities connected to extreme weather and climate change. The third project involves preparing the community for a range of climate-related threats such as heat waves, sea level rise, hurricanes and storm surge. Southwest Yonkers is along the Hudson River coast, is the most densely built part of the city, and the most disadvantaged, making it especially vulnerable to climate concerns and in need of resiliency initiatives. Through a project developed with Groundwork USA and NOAA, the organization has mapped a range of climate risks in Southwest Yonkers, and is running the Climate Safe Yonkers Task Force to address these issues in the community. The VISTA Steward will help develop the long-term capacity and sustainability of this project.

Member Duties: 

Activities will involve organizing and refining project outreach efforts through an equity lens, organizing volunteer stewardship initiatives and helping raise critically needed resources to sustain these programs over time. Projects include a major effort to transform a large neighborhood brownfield site into the Yonkers Greenway, an initiative developed and designed by the local community. Along an abandoned commuter line, the greenway will revitalize one of the city’s most socially and economically distressed neighborhoods. The third project involves preparing the community for a range of climate-related threats such as heat waves, sea level rise, hurricanes and storm surge. Southwest Yonkers is along the Hudson River coast, is the most densely built part of the city, and the most disadvantaged, making it especially vulnerable to climate concerns and in need of resiliency initiatives. The VISTA Steward will help develop the long-term capacity and sustainability of this project.

Program Benefits:

Segal Education Award ($6,895) OR Cash Stipend (~$1,800) upon successful completion of service, Living Allowance(62.69/day, disbursed every 2 weeks, Regular Training and Professional Development Opportunities (free and virtual), Employee Wellness Program (access to a licensed, professional counselor and 24/7 in-moment support), Childcare*, Healthcare*, Non-Competitive Eligibility upon successful completion of the term*, Networking and Mentorship, Access to a nationwide cohort of like-minded peers.

*For more information regarding the Segal Education Award, check out this link as well as alternative uses for the award here.

*For more information regarding the AmeriCorps VISTA Childcare benefit, please visit https://americorpschildcare.com/.

*For details about AmeriCorps VISTA healthcare benefits, please visit http://www.vistacampus.gov/healthcare.

*For details about Non-Competitive Eligibility, please visit https://my.americorps.gov/trust/help/member_portal/non_competitive_eligibility_overview.htm.

Service Areas:

Community Outreach, Neighborhood Revitalization, Community and Economic Development, Environment. 

For more information, please contact Addie Gilkerson (she/her) at agilkerson@conservationlegacy.org

Stewards Individual Placements does not and will not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application, interviewing, and/or onboarding process, please send your request to the hiring manager in your preferred method of communication.