When handed her bachelor’s degree in exercise science at SMSU last spring, Faith Depuydt did not expect to voluntarily be living in a lifestyle similar to that of someone in poverty.

Depuydt thought that she would be in graduate school looking to further her education even more, but instead she turned to the AmeriCorps VISTA program.

Volunteers In Service to America (VISTA) is a “year long, full time, commitment to serve on a specific project at a nonprofit organization,” as stated at nationalservice.org.

This is not a new position for students and community members to take part in either. For the past few years, there have been VISTA volunteers stationed in Marshall.

SMSU is the main partner to Healthy 56258, the organization that Depuydt volunteers for.

“The last VISTA did a lot of building, helping 56258. My position is more trying to get the face of Healthy 56258 out there,” Depuydt said.

Healthy 56258 includes health and wellness programs, physical activity and ways to eat right, among other items. To become more well known in the Marshall community specifically, Healthy 56258 made an appearance at the organizations Fair on Wednesday, Aug. 31.

They have also set up a Campus and Community Connect event at the Marshall YMCA. This event will be held on Nov. 17, from 2 to 7 p.m., and everyone in Marshall is welcome to attend. Depuydt compared it to a health fair, where attendees could even get their teeth cleaned among the many other services offered.

While Healthy 56258 may look into the health side of America, AmeriCorps VISTA focuses on the 46 million people in the U.S. alone who live in poverty. There are many other organizations available for VISTAs to volunteer with that can focus on different aspects of the nation that may be struggling. Similar between them all is the fact that dedicated, volunteer Americans are working towards making America a better country.

Anyone interested in the VISTA position, looking for more information on Healthy 56258 or wanting to apply for the Executive Director positon for Healthy 56258 can visit either nationalservice.org, healthy56258.org, or can find Faith Depuydt in her office in SS 218.