DU is a member of the Compact Service Corps AmeriCorps program with Colorado Campus Compact, a regional effort to engage students in meaningful service with local communities. AmeriCorps terms of service differ from general volunteerism or required academic service in three critical ways:

1. AmeriCorps participants must provide an additional value to community-based agencies where members serve. AmeriCorps service projects have goals and outcomes that members identify at the beginning of their terms, which provide a value to the organization and the individuals served.
2. While volunteerism may include short-term participation at multiple service sites, AmeriCorps members focus their hours to provide meaningful impact at a limited number of host sites.
3. AmeriCorps projects are aligned with federal focus areas. For Compact Service Corps, these focus areas include: education (tutoring and other education programs), healthy futures (primary and preventative health care), and capacity building (organizational infrastructure development).

To learn more, visit the Colorado Campus Compact website.

Eligibility for AmeriCorps is not based on your income level, your GPA or your student status. To qualify, you must be:

• doing unpaid service work in a nonprofit or government agency
• a U.S. citizen or permanent lawful resident
• 17 years or older
• a high school graduate.

Students in the following DU departments are eligible to apply for the 2011-12 year:

• Graduate School of Social Work
• Graduate School of Professional Psychology
• Josef Korbel School of International Studies
• Morgridge College of Education
• Boettcher Teacher's Program
• CCESL's PA and Puksta Scholars programs

Eligible organizations include those run by nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, school and police districts, local, state and federal governments, and Indian tribes.

Check the IRS website to see if a site placement is a nonprofit. While government agencies aren't listed on this website, they may still be eligible placement sites.

Please note that for-profit hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, etc., are not eligible placements. You can search the "ownership type" of a health care facility.

Compact Service Corps AmeriCorps members provide a diverse array of services in the following three focus areas:

1. Education
2. Healthy Futures
3. Capacity Building

Depending on your focus area, service project examples might include tutoring and mentoring K-12 children and youth, recruiting and training volunteers, or providing mental health services to community members.

If you are involved in academic service, volunteerism, course-related fieldwork, clinical rotations or student teaching, the Compact Service Corps is a natural fit. As an additional benefit, CSC members receive increased training and are eligible to receive additional scholarships to support professional development related to service projects.

In exchange for valuable community service, CSC members receive an education award that can be applied to qualified school loans or to finance current education expenses. The award amount depends on the term of service completed. The following options are available for DU students, depending on department:

• 300 hours over 1 calendar year = $1,175
• 450 hours over 1 calendar year = $1,468
• 675 hours over 1 calendar year = $2,114
• 900 hours over 2 calendar years = $2,775

Beyond the education award, members receive leadership training, gain practical experience in their future career fields, become more civically engaged in the local community and boost their marketability for post-service job searches.

For students eligible for federal Work-Study, the hours you spend in the community as a community-based work-study student can be counted toward your AmeriCorps commitment, as long as the project meets the goals of Compact Service Corps. If approved, you will receive an education award in addition to your hourly work-study wage. All these are benefits of joining the Compact Service Corps!

For more information, contact DU AmeriCorps Coordinator LeenAnn Rohm at duamericorps@gmail.com, or at 303-871-3332.

You can also contact us at:
Center for Community Engagement & Service Learning
Driscoll South, Suite 6
2050 E. Evans Ave.
Denver, CO 80208-2604

The DU AmeriCorps Program is excited to announce the availability of mini-grant funds to support service projects implemented by DU AmeriCorps Members at their service sites.

All current DU Compact Service Corps AmeriCorps Members are eligible to apply and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted. The maximum mini-grant amount will be $500 and will be distributed on a reimbursement basis.

Please contact CCESL Program Coordinator, Ryan Hanschen ryan.hanschen@du.edu, with any questions.
Application: DU AmeriCorps Mini-Grant.

DU AmeriCorps Members are now eligible for a $250 Professional Development Scholarship through the DU AmeriCorps program, in addition to the $250 available to CSC AmeriCorps Members through the Careers in the Common Good (CCG) scholarships, for a total of up to $500 in member development funds.

CCESL extends this great opportunity to increase the depth of AmeriCorps experience and skills to better serve our community. Simply submit a CCG Scholarship form found here, and a DU AmeriCorps Professional Development Scholarship form, attached to this email. Both applications will be submitted together to CCESL Program Coordinator Ryan J Hanschen [ryan.hanschen@du.edu] for processing.

Are you eligible?

1) If you've already received a $250 dollar Careers in the Common Good scholarship from Compact Service Corps and completed your Scholarship Summary Report, you may apply for an additional DU AmeriCorps Professional Development Scholarship to put towards a different training, conference, or workshop related to your service.

OR

2) If you're interested in attending an event that costs over $250 dollars, please apply for a Careers in the Common Good scholarship FIRST and then apply for the DU AmeriCorps Professional Development Scholarship. Provided funds are not exhausted, these two scholarships will total up to $500 in available funding to put towards your member development.

Eligible opportunities include professional conferences, workshops, and trainings or topic specific events addressing critical community needs. Events required by your academic program, required for licensure, or required by your service site are not eligible.

DU AmeriCorps Professional Development Scholarship funds will be disbursed to the Member as a reimbursement for registration, lodging, travel, and meal expenses. Members must submit original, itemized receipts (note: credit card receipts are not itemized receipts) within 30 days of the event to be reimbursed.

For more information or with any questions, please contact CCESL Program Coordinator Ryan Hanschen at ryan.hanschen@du.edu.

Application:  DU AmeriCorps Professional Development Scholarship