Amanda Weiss, a resident of Glenville, was recently sworn in as a member of Vista, the nearly 40-year-old national service program dedicated to helping fight poverty in the United States. She has been assigned to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Mankato to help develop a partnership working with colleges and local landfills in ways of working together to create marketing, business development, environmental education, home improvement and communications.

“We are very excited to have Amanda join our staff,” said Fred Snyder, ReStore manager. “She brings a great set of experiences to her work and will help our ReStore to great new heights, ”

Weiss is a graduate of Glenville Emmons High school class of 2005 and recently graduated from Waldorf College with a bachelor of arts degree in communications this past May.

She will spend a year as a Vista member serving at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Mankato. The Habitat ReStore sells new and gently used building material to the public at significantly discounted prices. Individuals, contractors, and businesses donate merchandise. Funds raised by the ReStore go toward building additional Habitat homes. In addition to using resources wisely, more than 100 tons of useable material has been diverted from landfills.

Habitat for Humanity of South Central Minnesota is a non-profit, Christian housing ministry dedicated to building simple, decent and affordable housing with and for families in need.

“We welcome Amanda as a new staff member and look forward to her contributions in helping us expand our restore capacity, thus in turn helping to facilitate the production of affordable housing in the area, especially when the need for affordable housing is so great,” said Julie Schmillen, executive director of Habitat For Humanity of South Central Minnesota.

Habitat builds houses along with families who demonstrate a need for affordable housing; Habitat does not give away homes. All applicants are required to provide employer references and all credit checks and rental verification. Once their application is approved a family must work 300-500 hours of “sweat equity” and attend classes designed to prepare them for home ownership.

In exchange for her year of full-time service, she will receive a modest living allowance along with health insurance, training, travel and relocation expenses. When she completes her service, she’ll receive either a $1,200 stipend or an education award of $4,725 that she can use to help pay for further schooling or vocational training or to pay off qualified student loans.

For 40 years, Vista has been helping bring communities and individuals out of poverty. Today, nearly 700 Vista members serve in hundreds of nonprofit organizations and public agencies throughout the country— working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, increase housing opportunities or bridge the digital divide.