WIPPS AmeriCorps, Americorps*VISTA, & Volunteers
2011-2012
WIPPS was awarded an AmeriCorps member for the 2011-2012 program year. WIPPS AmeriCorps Emily Schreiner will be working on projects that increase college access by providing opportunities for students to interact with college students and the campus. In addition, Emily will be working to make community service a regular aspect of student life at UW-Marathon County. Emily is a 2011 graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, where she majored in history and communication. Her main areas of focus were 20th century social history and instructional communication. Emily’s specific program, High Five 4 College, represents a partnership between the Department of Public Instruction, WIPPS and the University of Wisconsin –Marathon County that fosters leadership and promotes college awareness in middle school students.
This program involves:
- Bi-weekly after-school activities that challenge students to become better leaders, work in teams, and develop solid academic practices.
- Mentoring of Wausau middle- schoolers by UW-Marathon County student volunteers.
- Additional programs and activities to increase and promote college-readiness.
In partnership with Wisconsin Campus Compact, WIPPS was awarded an AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer. WIPPS VISTA Deanna Meek, under terms of all VISTA employment, will 
be working on projects that assist people in poverty by building community capacity and opportunities to help people escape conditions of poverty. Deanna Meek is a 2011 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania where she majored in history. Her main area of focus was labor history, and she completed her senior honors thesis on the topic of the Professional Air Traffic Controller’s Strike of 1981.
The specific WIPPS programs Deanna will be undertaking are part of a multi-pronged statewide effort to provide:
- Tax preparation assistance (especially directed to ensure that families in poverty have access to the Earned Income Tax Credit)
- FAFSA assistance to increase college students’ opportunities to afford and attend college.
2010-2011
In partnership with Wisconsin Campus Compact, WIPPS was re-awarded two AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteers (one based in Wausau and one placed in Madison at the Center on Business and Poverty (COBAP) with COBAP Director John Hoffmire supervising their efforts). At the Wausau location, WIPPS VISTA Anne Rapp continued to increase capacity and sustainability for a number of poverty alleviating efforts such as:
- Free tax preparation through the IRS VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program (which is directed at low-income individuals and families with a special focus on the Earned Income Tax Credit)
- Participation in the IRS ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) Acceptance Agent Program and
- FAFSA awareness and assistance to increase high school students’ financial access to higher education.
2009-2010
In partnership with Wisconsin Campus Compact, WIPPS was awarded four Americorps*VISTA volunteers (two based in Wausau and two placed at the Center on Business and Poverty (COBAP) with COBAP Director John Hoffmire supervising their efforts). WIPPS VISTAs Anne Rapp and Jim Cardinal, under terms of all VISTA employment, worked on projects that assist people in poverty by building community capacity and opportunities to help people escape conditions of poverty.
VISTA Anne Rapp holds a B.A. in Spanish from Mount Mary College in Milwaukee. Jim Cardinal holds a B.S. in Political Science from Ripon College.
The specific WIPPS programs that the 2009-2010 VISTAs undertook were part of a multi-pronged state-wide effort to provide
- Tax preparation assistance (especially directed to ensure that families in poverty had access to the Earned Income Tax Credit)
- FAFSA assistance to increase college students’ opportunities to afford and attend college
- Financial literacy opportunities for credit union and other business employees.
For more information on COBAP and its programs, visit their website: www.cobap.org/