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Relief for college tuition
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February 19, 1997: 12:30 p.m. ET
Federal program combines two hot issues: education & volunteerism
From Correspondent Lauren Thierry
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - As college tuitions soar, some students may find the cost of higher education moving out of reach.
But those who are willing to lend a hand could find some relief from a three-year-old national service program called AmeriCorps.
Involving more than 450 projects nationwide, the program requires participants to perform 1,700 hours of community service over a one-year period.
In exchange, AmeriCorps offers a grant of nearly $5,000 to pay for college or graduate school, or even to payback student loans.
Members also get a stipend, roughly equal to minimum wage, as well as some valuable experience.
"AmeriCorps helps us to get out there and do lots of different things so that maybe we can find out what we want to do," said David Veliz, an AmeriCorps member.
Participant Alec Baxt was drawn by the opportunity to "make a difference in the community." (91K WAV) or (91K AIFF)
The program appears to be achieving those goals.
Sean Andrews of the non-profit Parks Council in New York City points to one park that "was one of the worst drug centers in the Bronx" but today, with the help of AmeriCorps, is an oasis for community events.
President Clinton now wants to expand AmeriCorps to help his National Literacy Campaign. To do so, he hopes to raise the AmeriCorps budget by $141 million to $546 million for 1998.
But he may face heavy opposition from Congressional Republicans. Last year, they threatened to kill the program, accusing it of spending too much money on overhead.
The battle lines are being drawn again.
"It's going to be very difficult to get that additional funding for AmeriCorps when AmeriCorps hasn't been good stewards of the resources they already have," said Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).
But the program also has its supporters, especially among the 70,000 people who have taken part in AmeriCorps so far.
"I think everyone should have the opportunity that I had," said AmeriCorps alumnus Christopher Drago. "You know you're helping yourself, but you're also helping other people, and I think that's the most important thing about it."
You can obtain an AmeriCorps application by contacting the National Service Corporation in Washington.
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AmeriCorps
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