A-VOYCE Web Development Project Coordinator
Organization:
Asian Community Development Corporation VISTA Name:
Vimala Phongsavanh
Program Start:
7/2008
Program End:
7/2009
Project Description:
We would like to host a VISTA member who will develop effective online communications that complement and support program work for ACDC’s youth program, Asian Voices of Organized Youth for Community Empowerment (A-VOYCE). This person works to inform the development of online strategic initiatives, and assumes primary responsibility for content development and strategy. A-VOYCE serves youth ages 13-19 from the Greater Boston area, with an emphasis on low-income youth from Boston and urban Asian American (AA) communities. This youth development program fosters leadership potential and encourages youth to develop an active voice in their community through two project tracts: producing and leading Chinatown walking tours and producing a weekly radio show that broadcasts on WMFO 91.5 Tuft Community Radio.
The VISTA member will primarily be responsible for creating a strategy to use web 2.0 tools such as, but not limited to, Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, blogs, and wikis,for publicity, marketing, and fundraising purposes. Depending on the VISTA member’s interests, s/he will have the opportunity to identify synergistic approaches that align electronic media and web content presentation with enterprise objectives. Possible projects would involve developing an online marketing plan to increase number of paid walking tours or creating a prototype for disseminating the audio walking tour. While the VISTA will not work directly with youth, s/he will be instrumental in growing the youth program by providing a framework for using web based tools and forums to share A-VOYCE projects such as podcasts of our radio shows, oral histories, and excerpts from a forthcoming A-VOYCE literary magazine. S/he will also work with the youth programs staff to identify best practices for media education and engaging youth in producing web media content.
Project Outcome:
Vilmala has been extraordinary at implementing a web based presense for the A-VOYCE program. Her skill in this areana has helped facilitate more open communication amongst and between the youth. The youth have a strong bond of trust with her and she has been a good role model and capable teacher for them. She has done a remarkable job at running the radio station, something she had no experience with before she came to ACDC. She is fearless when it comes to tackling challenges and issues and she does it with minimal supervision.
Shortly after she arrived at ACDC, we had the opportunity to partner with the CITGO-Venezuela Energy Efficient Lighting Program in partnership with Citizens Programs Corporation to implement a pilot program that would provide compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and energy efficiency education. The Program provided low-income households with educational materials on energy efficiency and energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs. Vimala took the project on and became proficient at delivering workshops and training to the Chinese community where she did not speak the language and faced overwhelming interest. ACDC was literally flooded with requests and the project took on a life of it’s own. Vimala handled this by recruiting chinese speaking residents to assist in teaching workshops and helping to handle the volume of people who flooded to ACDC to participate in the program. It also required a lot of community outreach, translation of materials and finding ways to communicate when there were cultural and linguistic barriers. The program was a smashing success, in large measure, because of Vimala’s attention to detail and open communication with board, staff, volunteers and community members. The program raised $22,972 for A-VOYCE which was a real boost for the program.
Impact Quote:
“Vimala made a significant contribution to ACDC’s and A-VOYCE’s ability to expand our on-line presence. In the process she taught youth new web tools and created a way for them to freely communicate back and forth. She stepped up to the plate and ran the Energy Efficiency Program, which served over 1000 low-income community residents. We would not have had the staff capacity to run the program otherwise.”
- Dharmena Downey, supervisor