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Friday, March 29, 2024

GIVE Act rewards student volunteers with grants

The federal House of Representatives voted 321-105 to expand funding for volunteer programs Wednesday.

As part of President Obama's goal to alleviate America's economic crisis through service, the GIVE Act should create 175,000 new service jobs, bringing the national number of volunteers to 250,000. The act will create four new service corps: a Clean Energy Corps, an Education Corps, a Healthy Futures Corps and a Veterans Service Corps.

And there is further good news for U.S. college students, who are serving in record numbers.

Students who volunteer will be eligible for the maximum authorized Pell Grants, which should help them keep up with rising tuition.

Amy Panikowski, campus recruiter for the Peace Corps at UF, said she's seen an "explosion of interest" from students in recent years.

To Panikowski, it seems the "Facebook generation" is ready to mobilize and bring about positive change at home and around the world.

"They're tired of reading about it," she said. "They want to see it."

Lily Darnell, a junior psychology major at UF, said she volunteers at the Sidney Lanier Center in Gainesville, helping teach children with learning disabilities such as blindness and cerebral palsy. Darnell said working with those children helps put her life into perspective and makes her feel good.

"If I can provide three hours of my time and have any impact on their life, it means a lot to me," she said.

Darnell thinks it's the same for the thousands of other student volunteers.

"I feel like a lot of times, what's placed on us makes us feel helpless," she said. "Any way we can provide to another group, if you help a little part, it makes a difference."

Tracey Reeves, director of the UF Center for Leadership and Service, said legislation like the GIVE Act is more important than ever.

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The center organizes trips, such as Florida Alternative Breaks, which allows students to volunteer in other states or countries during spring and winter breaks.

"I think with the economy, it's especially important for folks to give back and give a helping hand," she said.

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