A scholarship program that awards college students up to $10,000 for community service is expanding at Cal State Monterey Bay and two local community colleges after receiving a $9 million grant.
The College Corps Fellowship, a partnership between the California governor’s CA Volunteers initiative and AmeriCorps, awards up to $10,000 to individual high-need students who complete 450 hours of training and community service in one year.
The influx of new funds means Cal State Monterey Bay’s College Corps will nearly triple in size and add Hartnell College and Monterey Peninsula College to its program.
“We are thrilled to expand the reach of CSUMB’s College Corps,” said Chrissy Hernandez, associate professor at the Service Learning Institute, which operates College Corps on campus. “This is an incredible opportunity to strengthen transfer pipelines and help students graduate debt-free.”
CSUMB will increase its current cohort level of 70 students to 100 students each year for the next three years, while Monterey Peninsula College and Hartnell will recruit 50 each.
CSUMB was selected as a returning #CaliforniansForAll College Corps partner campus and lead institution in early February. The goal of the program is to make college more affordable while students develop skills, grow professional networks and serve the community.
“College Corps students become civic actors supporting our local communities and learn that service is part of their lives, rather than just something they just do,” said Andrew Amorao, CSUMB’s College Corps director.
College Corps has been a part of CSUMB for four years, supporting 227 fellows who have given approximately 81,000 hours of service to more than 30 community sites annually.
Student fellows perform community service at designated partner agencies
Students that are selected for the program perform service in four main areas: K-12 education, environmental stewardship, food insecurity and health equities, explained Amorao, and are placed at a designated College Corps Community Host Partner (CHP).
“We host a matchmaking event in late July with fellows and our CHPs to ensure the placement is mutually beneficial to both the student and organization,” Amorao said. “Fellows are provided with the position description of each CHP prior to the matchmaking event, while at the same time, CHPs are provided with the fellows’ applications to review.”
Student fellows apply their own skills and interests to their service projects.
“One of our fellows supported Regeneración’s Pajaro Valley Air Quality Focus Groups,” Amorao said. “The fellow is fluent in Mixteco and was able to provide feedback and guidance on the presentation provided to Mixteco speaking communities.”
Another fellow supported elementary school students with their creative projects at the Community Partnership for Youth’s Visual and Performing Arts Academy.
“One of our environmental stewardship fellows is placed at California State Parks and helps with community outreach events such as film screenings, Kings Tides tide pooling and Christmas in the Adobes,” Amorao said.
How to participate
Each fellow receives up to$10,000, depending on their financial aid award and if they have unmet need, explained Amorao. Fellows receive this in the form of a monthly living stipend and education award.
“The education award is earned after the fellows complete 450 total community service and training hours,” Amorao said. “Nearly all fellows who successfully complete the program earn the full $10,000 scholarship.”
To participate, students must apply and interview for the program, he said.
The program is open to full-time, enrolled undergraduate students at a College Corps partner campus who are and will be in good academic standing and able to commit to the program for the full year.
Eligible students must also have a high school diploma or its equivalent by start of program and be a US Citizen, US National, legal permanent resident or AB 540 CA Dream Act Student.
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: CSUMB’s community service program gets $9 million to expand
Reporting by Roseann Cattani, Salinas Californian / Salinas Californian
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
