BVU, New Visions Homeless Services Establish Strategic Partnership
Through a collaboration with Buena Vista University, New Visions Homeless Services broadens educational benefits to its employees and their eligible family members.
Buena Vista University (BVU) and New Visions Homeless Services have entered a Strategic Partnership that mutually benefits both organizations as they strive to strengthen the communities they serve.
This partnership allows for employees of New Visions Homeless Services, as well as eligible family members of full-time employees, to receive grant funding to lower the overall cost per credit hour while enrolled in BVU’s convenient online undergraduate programs or the organizational leadership graduate program. Partner grant funding also lowers the cost of education for students enrolled in classes at BVU’s Storm Lake campus.
“Most of our staff members come to us with their own lived experience, many without a college degree, and some even having experienced homelessness themselves. We know that a college education can enhance the skills of our staff and ultimately better serve our clients, so we are looking forward to making this Strategic Partnership with Buena Vista University available to our staff team.”
New Visions Homeless Services CEO Brandy Wallar
“Most of our staff members come to us with their own lived experience, many without a college degree, and some even having experienced homelessness themselves,” says New Visions Homeless Services CEO Brandy Wallar. “We know that a college education can enhance the skills of our staff and ultimately better serve our clients, so we are looking forward to making this Strategic Partnership with Buena Vista University available to our staff team.”
New Visions Homeless Services is focused on providing help, hope, and opportunity for those experiencing hunger and homelessness in the communities of Council Bluffs and Omaha, Neb. The organization, which was founded in 1995, offers programs including emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing, street outreach, prevention services, food security, education services, and services for U.S. veterans in an effort to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness in the communities it serves.
BVU has long enjoyed strong educational ties in and around Council Bluffs, home to Iowa Western Community College, a campus that has collaborated with BVU for decades. Students enrolled in a program through Iowa Western can seamlessly transfer their credits toward their bachelor’s degree at BVU. Students receive personalized support including admissions and enrollment counseling and academic advising right in Council Bluffs through BVU’s office on the Iowa Western campus.
“Buena Vista University is thrilled to collaborate with New Visions Homeless Services, an organization committed to offering help, hope, and opportunity to individuals who have faced countless barriers and experienced lifetimes of trauma,” says BVU Director of Strategic Partnerships Laura Todd. “As BVU believes an accessible and affordable education remains at the heart of building stronger individuals and communities, we look forward to the opportunities this Strategic Partnership creates.”
For more information about BVU’s Strategic Partnerships and partner opportunities, please visit the BVU website at bvu.edu/strategic-partnerships or contact Strategic Partnerships at StrategicPartnerships@bvu.edu.