SOUTHEAST UNIVERSITY SET TO INITIATE AMERICORPS PROGRAM

AmeriCorps, a type of domestic Peace Corps, will kick off locally with a ceremony Nov. 30 at Southeast Missouri State University.

The Southeast Missouri Partners for Community Service will administer the federal program in eight counties in the region.

The kickoff ceremony is scheduled for 1-3 p.m. at Rose Theatre.

AmeriCorps participants will be sworn in by Steve Schad, program director of the Missouri Community Service Commission and a staff member in Lt. Gov. Roger Wilson's office.

The event also will feature a flag ceremony by Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts and a welcome by Jacqueline Nielson, AmeriCorps program supervisor.

Dr. Johnny McGaha, AmeriCorps project director, will present introductory remarks. Also scheduled to speak are Dr. Paul Keys, dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Southeast; and Dr. Kala M. Stroup, Southeast president.

AmeriCorps is a new program offering opportunities for citizens to serve their country and earn money to attend college or vocational schools.

The goal of the National Community Service Trust Act of 1993 is to encourage citizens to address issues facing communities across the nation: education, human needs, public safety and the environment.

A $390,000 grant awarded to the Southeast Missouri Partners for Community Service in August had strong support from area legislators and was one of three AmeriCorps proposals in Missouri to receive state funding.

It also was ranked first by the Missouri Community Service Commission, which made the state awards. It was the only proposal submitted by a Missouri university to receive funding, McGaha said.

Two other Missouri grant proposals were funded at the federal level.

The Southeast Missouri Partnership for Community Service will cover the counties of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Mississippi, Scott, Stoddard, New Madrid, Dunklin and Pemiscot.

The local effort is a joint partnership of Southeast Missouri State University and the Community Caring Council of Cape Girardeau.

The Community Caring Council of Cape Girardeau was founded in 1989 and has more than 120 members representing more than 60 agencies and organizations in the region.

Primary partners in Southeast Missouri Partners for Community Service are the Harry L. Crisp Bootheel Education Center in Malden; public health departments of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Stoddard, Scott, Mississippi, New Madrid, Dunklin and Pemiscot counties; the Department of Natural Resources; and area public schools.

In addition to the $390,000 state award, county health departments in the area have agreed to provide matching funds of $14,000 for the AmeriCorps program, with the university providing an $18,000 match of in-kind services and facilities.

Under the three-year plan, 36 participants will serve on three-member teams that will focus on the environment, health, families, area public schools and communities.

Nineteen 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 post-secondary vocational school. Participation of full-time workers is limited to two years.

In addition, 17 part-time workers will perform 900 hours of community service over a two-year period. In return, they will receive an educational award of $2,362. Part-time workers who are full-time students may extend their period of service to three years, McGaha said.

"This is a way to have a little living allowance while at the same time having a way to go to college or post-secondary school," Community Caring Council Coordinator Shirley Ramsey said.

While the focus is on young adults, the program will include area residents of all ages and backgrounds, students and non-students.

"We hope this program will spark people to get their GED or will be an incentive for people to go to college," Ramsey said.

"These young people will gain so much from working in the real world. They will be skilled and trained. They will be working in communities and making positive changes. This also will help them to mature and grow. This will promote the idea of community service throughout their lives," she said.

The two primary AmeriCorps offices will be in the Community Caring Council office at the university and at the Bootheel Education Center in Malden.