Lasallian Volunteers is very pleased to announce that we will continue our tradition of participating in the AmeriCorps Education Awards Program (AEAP) and national service movement through our relationship with Catholic Volunteer Network (CVN) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). We received news this week that our sub-grantee application has officially been approved, which will enable 2012-2013 Lasallian Volunteers to be eligible for the following benefits:
- National service forbearance on eligible student loans,
- Payment of interest that accrues on loans in national service forbearance, and
- Segal AmeriCorps Education Award in the amount of $2,675.00, which can be used to repay eligible student loans and/or pay for future educational expenses upon successful completion of the service year.
CVN member programs received news one year ago that our AmeriCorps grantee application had not been funded. CVN worked diligently to remedy the weaknesses of the application and to further align itself with the strategic objectives of the Corporation for National & Community Service that administers AmeriCorps – thus recovering a reduced number of Education Awards starting in November 2011.
Lasallian Volunteers announced a trial run of the new AEAP requirements last year, partnering with a fellow CVN member that hosts Lasallian Volunteers: San Miguel Schools of Chicago. Our experience of the past year revealed to us that the new requirements required added effort that could be accommodated by the LV Staff, the LV AmeriCorps members, and the LVs’ site directors.
We hope that the benefits of our strengthened relationship with AmeriCorps provide our Lasallian Volunteers with additional excitement and resources for the coming year, and we look forward to further developing our relationship with the AmeriCorps national service movement in the years to come.
Please contact Peter Tooher, Program Coordinator of Lasallian Volunteers, if you have any questions or would like additional information.