Hi, I’m Michelle Bennett, and I have served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member with HandsOn Northwest North Carolina for the past year.  When I tell people I serve as a VISTA, they always ask me what sparked my interest in serving our community (I’m a native from the area where I’m serving).  Ultimately, it boils down to the fact that I just want to help others with the talents and skills I’ve been given and never felt I had the opportunity while I was working and going to school full-time. Now, starting my second year of A*C VISTA service with HandsOn NWNC, I’m very excited to merge our Days of Service Program into our Neighboring effort with Forest Park Elementary School and its surrounding neighborhood.  There, students will learn about leadership through community service projects that they create, plan and implement themselves.  University students as well as neighborhood volunteers will be engaged to assist the Council.  Once this program is established, we hope to expand and engage residents from the neighborhood to create self-identified projects that help build the quality of life in the community.  I’m excited about making these plans happen, and knowing that my two years of VISTA service will have made a lasting difference in Winston-Salem.