AMERICORPS HELPS SINGLE MOTHER PAY COLLEGE EDUCATION EXPENSES

As a single mother of two, Teresa Hale recently faced an uphill battle. How would she repay the nearly $10,000 in student loans?

Hale, a senior at Southeast Missouri State University, considered military service for the educational benefits it offered.

But she failed to qualify because of eyesight problems, a rejection Hale found hard to swallow, she said.

Determined to find a way finance her college education, Hale wrote to President Bill Clinton. No response. She wrote again and received a form letter.

Determined to get a response from the President himself, Hale tried an innovative approach.

She wrote a letter on recycled paper, crafted at the hands of several Girl Scouts for whom she served as a counselor during a camping outing last summer.

In June, Clinton sent Hale a message she hopes will change her life. Clinton told Hale about a program called "AmeriCorps," in which volunteers could work for educational awards to be used for college or training.

In September, Hale learned an AmeriCorps program was being started at Southeast. After hearing a local news broadcast announcing that area volunteers for the program were being sought, she wanted to join.

Today, Hale is a member of the Southeast Missouri Partners for Community Service, the AmeriCorps program serving eight counties in Southeast Missouri -- Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Mississippi, Scott, Stoddard, New Madrid, Dunklin and Pemiscot.

She already has begun her volunteer work on a six-member health impact team based in Stoddard County, and has been working with the Stoddard County Health Department in Bloomfield.

She plans to talk to school officials in Stoddard County to expand or establish programs for at-risk students, including a support group or program for school dropouts.

"It's really a good learning experience," she said. "I'm learning things I need for my field of psychology. I want to work with youths when I graduate. It's really a lot of fun for me. The experience I'm getting is really important. But the educational grant is the big thing."

Under the plan, Hale and other full-time AmeriCorps workers will perform 1,700 hours of community service a year in return for $7,400 in annual wages plus child care and health insurance.

After each year of service, workers will receive a $4,725 educational award to attend college or a postsecondary vocational school. Participation of full-time workers is limited to two years.

Based on those figures, Hale says she will be able to repay nearly all of her $10,000 educational debt by the end of 1996.

Seventeen part-time workers have been sworn in and will perform 900 hours of community service over a two-year period.

In return for their service, they will receive an educational award of $2,362.50.

Part-time workers who are full-time students may extend their period of service to three years.

The Southeast Missouri Partners for Community Service has received $390,000 in August and was one of three in the state to receive funding.