New Member Recruiting
To enroll in AmeriCorps, members must be permanent, US residents, 17 or older (parental consent required if not 17), and have a high school diploma or GED or agree to obtain one during their term of service. The GED requirement can be waived based on an individual educational assessment indicating that the member is incapable of obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent. (See full list of eligibility requirements here.) Programs must retain copies of the appropriate proofs of eligibility, a record of which should be kept in the member’s file and should be mailed to the Bonner Foundation with all other member file documents.
In addition, individuals may only ever receive two Education Awards through CNCS programs, and therefore if a student has previously been enrolled in AmeriCorps or any other CNCS program (e.g. VISTA, Teach for America), they may not be eligible to participate.
The colleges should seek students who show good citizenship, commitment to community service, and academic achievement, but who also demonstrate high financial need. Every effort must also be made to achieve gender balance and racial diversity in each new class of Bonners. Special recruitment efforts are needed to reach exemplary students who meet these qualifications.
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