Americorps Grant Helps FAU Students and the Local Community

The School of Communication and Multimedia Studies in Florida Atlantic University’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters recently received a grant from AmeriCorps to launch a new service-learning project that will give students hands-on experience in community service work while helping local not-for-profit agencies. Funded by AmeriCorps and Volunteer Florida and operating as part of the FAU Community Conversation Corps, this three year effort will generate up to 56,700 volunteer service hours for community organizations and could generate over $550,000 for FAU students.

“This new grant is designed to help not-for-profit agencies expand their reach during extraordinarily challenging economic times while giving FAU students hands on training in the not-for-profit area,” said Shara Pavlow, professor in the FAU School of Communication and Multimedia Studies and director of the AmeriCorps grant at FAU. “By combining theory with practical experience, the students gain valuable insight and professional skills at the same time they help some of our most needy community resources.”

Over the three-year grant term, 126 students will serve 96 different community organizations. Each participating student will invest 450 hours of service during one semester or approximately 25 hours per week. In exchange, each student will receive a cash stipend of $3,017, a $1,250 scholarship voucher, notation of AmeriCorps service on his/her FAU academic transcript, and professional training and mentoring. Volunteers are involved in everything from special events management, to volunteer management, to public relations efforts.

For more information about AmeriCorps work at FAU, contact Shara Pavlow at conversations@fau.edu.