Three months ago the Utah Campus Compact lost funding from the Utah legislature and was dissolved.
Soon after that, Utah State University launched the Utah Higher Education AmeriCorps Network (UHEAN), made possible through a nearly $158,000 AmeriCorps grant that was transferred from the Utah Campus Compact to USU.
Sean Damitz is director of the USU Center for Community Engagement. He explains the volunteer work USU students have done previously under these grants.
“It’s a lot of different things where college students are engaged with the community,” Damitz explains. “Our local example, what we’ve had our folks here at Utah State University traditionally do with this AmeriCorps grant, has been a lot of after school programs with our education outreach program.
“That’s with the Logan and Cache County school districts, basically, working with those school districts to staff and to promote their after-school programs.”
AmeriCorps members are expected to mobilize more than 4,000 volunteers in campus communities throughout Utah to address critical needs. All AmeriCorps members shall receive an education award upon completion of their terms of service to defray the costs of higher education.
AmeriCorps members will be students of those institutions serving terms ranging from 300 to 675 hours.