Five Utah community-based organizations have been selected to participate in the first AmeriCorps programs nationwide.
The Utah Commission on National and Community Services announced it will receive service grants totaling $368,000 from AmeriCorps, the new domestic Peace Corps initiative. Two national programs that will operate in Utah have also received funds.Grant recipients are Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement Program (MESA); Southern Utahn AmeriCorps Education Program; Collaborative Land Management; Parkview Edison Ameri-Corps Team (PEAT); and Ameri-Corps and the Medically Underserved in Utah (AMUU); USDA Rural Development Team and the Navajo Nation Youth Conservation Corps.
The five state programs will be staffed by 27 AmeriCorps members. Members are Americans age 17 or older who receive a living allowance, health- and child-care benefits and an education grant of $4,725 a year in exchange for full-time service. The two national programs will be staffed by up to 90 AmeriCorps members.
Up to 200 programs employing 20,000 AmeriCorps members should begin by year's end.