Washington Campus Compact recently received $375,000 from Americorps to continue Students in Service, a program that awards scholarships to college and university students who provide service to their communities.
“It’s great for students, since it allows them to get more funding, and it’s also great for the community,” said Brian Heinrich, Wester Communications Director of Campus Compact.
When students register with Students in Service, they agree to a term of service, which is a set number of hours they will need to complete within one to two years.
They then choose which non-profit agency, school or governmental organization they would like to work with.
Many scholarship programs have GPA, economic and course of study requirements.
These prerequisites can make it difficult for students to qualify for scholarships, but anyone with the motivation to serve the community can participate in Students in Service, Heinrich said.
“By volunteering, service learners, interns and volunteers ignite passions they never knew they had,” said Tim Costello, director of the Western Center for Service Learning.
Heinrich said that although there are 30 students involved in Students in Service this quarter, there are still almost 30 open slots in the program.
Because of the beautiful weather, spring quarter is a wonderful time to enroll if you want to do environmental work, he said.
Students in the program can continue working into the summer.
Students who are unsure which organizations they would like to work with can contact a number of organizations that specialize in matching volunteers to available service opportunities, Costello said.
These include the Western Center for Service Learning and the Whatcom Volunteer Center.
“The support interns provide to our program is mutually beneficial,” said Melissa Donnelly, Program Director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington. “The students are able to work directly with the social service community and our program is able to provide the children, families, and volunteers we work with the extra attention they need and deserve.”
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