The History of MIFA continued The VISTA Impact In July, 1974, a contract was awarded to MIFA by the federal government for VISTAs or Volunteers in Service to America. Sometimes called “the arms and legs of MIFA” these volunteers provided the means of initiating new programs or of supporting existing ones. Often referred to as the domestic Peace Corps, VISTA usually recruited college students to go into areas of poverty and deprivation to help Americans improve their lives and skills. MIFA changed this pattern by recruiting volunteers who were mostly well-educated, mature women with volunteer experience and an orientation toward action. The choice of Julia Allen as the first VISTA recruiter was a decision that destined the project for positive results. The first class of VISTAs set the pattern. Nina Katz, a member of that initial group, recalls that Allen told them, “We need all your skills and resources.” Ina Fitzgerald remembers, “We were promised low pay and long hours.” Through the VISTA program, volunteers are so called, because although they are paid a small living stipend, that amount is not intended to be compensation for the work accomplished. Dempsey says VISTAs are “the key to MIFA's success…people who are intelligent, mature, creative, and with initiative. They are people who wanted to do things.” Frank McRae adds “Socialites are now servant ministers, and that changes attitudes. It has legitimized urban ministry in Memphis, and makes it easier for the rest of us to do urban ministry in the city. Gid is now in the position to bless new things. MIFA has become the standard of legitimacy.” Smith believes the program worked well because of the caliber of the VISTA volunteers who, he says, were presented with a program and a challenge and then were allowed to “run with it” with minimal supervision. Many have remained actively involved in MIFA as employees or as volunteers long after their VISTA terms expired. In VISTA training, Jean Watson learned the value of fiscal accountability as it relates to the credibility of an organization. As a result, she later became the Director of MIFA's Administrative Services. As a VISTA, Sybil Tucker developed East Senior Center, then went on to become the VISTA supervisor and a MIFA Associate Executive Director. In this role, she currently oversees all the MIFA programs that serve senior citizens. VISTAs also helped to design and develop the Memphis Food Bank, the Mid-South Senior newspaper, Emergency Homes for Families; in fact, essentially every program at MIFA during the VISTA years has been touched by their skills and services. The VISTA program as it was operated by MIFA became a model and was emulated across the country. ACTION, the federal agency supervising the program, rewarded its effectiveness by increasing the number of volunteers allotted to as many as thirty-five and by continuing to place VISTAs with MIFA for an unprecedented thirteen years. Next: The Ice is Broken