Arizona Serve

Our story began in 2006 when several Yavapai County agencies saw a gap in services, so they brought together a small team of AmeriCorps VISTA members to fight poverty in the region. Several members chose to stay after their service year to develop the Yavapai County VISTA Project. In 2009, we became Serve Yavapai and a program of Prescott College, increasing in scope and size to 25 VISTA members.

 During 2013, we expanded to Pima County as well, thus becoming Arizona Serve. We were awarded our first AmeriCorps State and National grant in 2015, which broadened the part- and full-time direct service opportunities available for projects targeting healthy futures, education, and economic opportunities. Additionally, in 2015, Arizona Serve established a partnership with the Tucson Mayor's office in order to implement the Tucson Community Schools Initiative. This initiative sunsetted in 2020 as it placed members in three school districts and improved high school graduation rates and connected students to college and career opportunities. In 2022, we were awarded a grant as part of the inaugural Public Health Corps. Launched by the Biden-Harris Administration in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control with American Rescue Plan funds, the new corps will address the public health needs of local communities and create pathways to good quality public health-related careers. Today, we are a team over 150 strong. We are proud to have one of the largest and top-performing AmeriCorps projects in the state of Arizona. Our staff, all of whom were National Service members themselves, oversees a collaborative team environment that allows us to support communities in the fight against poverty.