CMI Welcomes Four AmeriCorps VISTA Members & New Hire
November 1, 2024
Charles Town, WV. Community Markets Inc. (“CMI”), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which increases food security and access to healthy WV-grown food for West Virginian families, recently welcomed four AmeriCorps VISTA Members to its team. CMI is thrilled to onboard Maria Resendiz, Chris Hozdic, Allen Sellers, and Nick Langan for a year-long term of service. For the next twelve months, these four service-minded individuals will feed underserved families in local communities and support local farmers with CMI as their host site. CMI’s AmeriCorps VISTA Program is a partnership with WV’s Promise Youth Alliance.
Maria Resendiz brings a degree in professional writing, a passion for the community, and volunteer experience to her service role as the Fundraising Specialist.
Chris Hozdic first learned about Community Markets Inc. through volunteering at a Food Box Giveaway. He obtained a B.S. in Business Administration from Shepherd University and is excited to help CMI reach more families with healthy & affordable groceries as the Mobile Markets Coordinator.
Allen Sellers has more than 30 years of experience across numerous IT disciplines. Having spent most of his volunteer experience working with disaster recovery efforts, Allen is excited to build something positive for his local community in his IT Specialist service role.
Nick Langan spent nearly ten years in law enforcement. In 2020 he left law enforcement to pursue creative endeavors, both in fiction and nonfiction writing and film. He’s thrilled to serve WV families in need as the Communications Specialist.
Ellie George, who just finished an AmeriCorps term of service with CMI, had nothing but positive praise for the program. “My time serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA Member with Community Markets Inc. was highly rewarding. The program gave me the opportunity to learn vital professional skills and allowed me to enter into the nonprofit sector despite the majority of my prior experience and education being in a different field. The VISTA program is a great opportunity for young professionals to expand their life experience and build skills that are valuable to any career.” Ellie has now transferred from VISTA service to the full-time Program Manager for CMI.
To read full bios for each member of the CMI team, and to keep up to date with CMI’s latest events, head over to www.communitymarketsinc.org/about.
The four new CMI VISTA members will serve until October 2025, and will further CMI’s mission of feeding hungry Appalachian families, supporting West Virginian farmers, and increasing food security around West Virginia. Each of them expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve and a genuine enthusiasm at the prospect of propelling CMI into the next stage of development.
Those interested in serving families and farmers in West Virginia through Community Markets Inc.’s AmeriCorps VISTA Program should contact Operations Manager Mark Peiffer at mark.peiffer@communitymarketsinc.org.
Community Markets Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Charles Town, WV whose mission is to connect locally grown food to families in need. All of CMI’s programs and activities increase food security and access to healthy and affordable food grown in WV for all Appalachian families, especially underserved and low-income families.
To learn more about Community Markets Inc., make a tax-deductible donation, or to volunteer, please visit www.communitymarketsinc.org. If you haven’t already, you can also like and follow CMI on Facebook at facebook.com/CommunityMarketsInc.