Mandy Salzillo '08 weeds a flower bed at the Child & Family residential home on Trout Avenue in Middletown. Salzillo participated in AmeriCorps' Scholarships for Service program during the 2007-2008 academic year.
AmeriCorps
2009-2010 enrollment will be held Sept. 5-25. For more information, stop by the Office of Community Service, located in Miley 119A.
AmeriCorps provides an opportunity for students to make a big difference in their lives and the lives of those around them. It gives students the chance to apply their skills and ideals toward helping others and meeting critical needs in the community. Each year, AmeriCorps offers 75,000 opportunities for adults of all ages and backgrounds to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups.
Salve Regina students participate in AmeriCorps by volunteering for the Scholarships for Service program, an AmeriCorps Education Award Only program that engages college students committed to service who serve a minimum of 300 hours in exchange for a $1,000 education award.
Scholarships for Service is administered by the Rhode Island Campus Compact through generous financial support from the RI Service Alliance, and involves institutions of higher education throughout the state. Member campuses in Rhode Island have a deep commitment to the value of service in education and to fulfilling their public trust by graduating people who are active participants in civic life. Ten students participated in the program during the 2008-2009 academic year, volunteering for several nonprofits throughout Newport County.
Other programs offered through AmeriCorps:
Raise Your Voice
Raise Your Voice is a national effort that engages students in public life and enables them to speak out on issues of importance to them. Rhode Island Campus Compact, in collaboration with Massachusetts Campus Compact, offers competitive grants to campuses to support civic activities including student dialogues, conferences and service. Presidential Activity Funds, to support dialogues and activities between February and April 2010, will be awarded. Grant funding will encourage campuses to develop activities focused on democratic processes, the student role in building engaged campuses and issue-based debate and discussion. For more information, visit the national Raise Your Voice Web site, Action for Change. All Salve Regina students are encouraged to apply. Applications will be available in October and November.
Civic Leadership Corps
The Civic Leadership Corps is designed to develop a group of leaders who will empower their peers to be active and engaged citizens, to engage college students around civic issues on their campus and in their community, to give college students a direct voice in Rhode Island Campus Compact's work and strategize with the compact about developing student-focused programming and to provide opportunities for student leaders to share ideas and expertise across college campuses in the state. Student leaders are expected to attend four mandatory meetings taking place in September, November, February and April.
AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America)
AmeriCorps VISTAs are full-time AmeriCorps members who address the pressing issues facing low-income communities by improving the quality of campus community service and service-learning programs and increasing the number of student volunteers. Through their unique campus-based placements, VISTA members build relationships with community-based organizations and connect them with campus resources such as student volunteers, faculty teaching service-learning courses and community Federal Work Study programs. VISTA is one of several full-time national service programs. VISTA members who are interested in developing lasting solutions to the problems of poverty in America serve in nonprofit organizations and agencies to develop and expand services, strengthen programs and empower low-income individuals. Check out VISTA's activities page to see an example of the types of projects VISTAs work on during their year of service.
