The YELLS family is growing thanks to a grant from the AmeriCorps VISTA program, which awarded YELLS three VISTAs for the 2016-2017 school year. VISTA, or Volunteers In Service To America, was created by President John F. Kennedy and officially began in 1965 as a national anti-poverty campaign. Funded by the federal government, VISTAs commit a year of service in community-based nonprofits throughout the country, helping them build stronger organizational capacity.
Laura Keefe, Executive Director of YELLS, says, “We’re thrilled and honored to have a team of AmeriCorps members supporting our work on Franklin Gateway. It’s amazing to have three highly-skilled, full-time team members working to build and grow YELLS and our community. This AmeriCorps project is part of our strategic plan to leverage the investment of our funders by increasing our organizational base to better support and sustain the programs that empower our community. We continuously stretch to serve and do more, and AmeriCorps VISTA will helps us strengthen our capacity. Now that we have our VISTA team members in place, I’m more excited than ever for the possibilities ahead!”
From Left to Right: Jameisha Washington, India Graden, and Kierrah Smith
India Graden, Fundraising Specialist
India Graden is a native of the best corner of the beautiful and sunny south, Fayetteville, North Carolina and a graduate of Howard University where she majored in History with a concentration in the African Diaspora and Public History. She is excited to begin a career in an area she is passionate about. India brings experience from the American Red Cross, A Wider Circle, and the office of US Congress Member Barbara Lee. India will serve as the Fundraising Specialist for YELLS to build and strengthen relationships with donors and philanthropic organizations to diversify our funding sources.
Jameisha Washington, Marketing and Community Engagement Specialist
Jameisha Washington is a recent Master’s of Public Administration candidate from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. She joins YELLS with experience working with nonprofits such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Santa Barbara YMCA, and the Career Resource Center at Georgia State University. As the Marketing and Community Engagement Specialist, Jameisha will help encourage parent involvement and help YELLS strengthen relationships with local businesses and community members to better reach our entire Franklin Gateway community.
Kierrah Smith, Volunteer Engagement Specialist
Kierrah is a recent graduate from Syracuse University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations. She is excited to get together a ton of new ideas and welcome volunteers into the YELLS family. Kierrah interned with National Center for Civil and Human Rights and has experience in public relations and education strategy. Kierrah is originally from New York City, New York. As the Volunteer Engagement Specialist, Kierrah will increase volunteer recruitment and retention to ensure we nurture an active and skilled volunteer base that fuels all YELLS programs.
