Student Volunteer Program Proposed

Glendale Community College students interested in teaching, police work or city management could get hands-on experience through a proposed volunteer program involving the college, the city and the school district.

Community college officials have asked the Glendale Unified School District and the city of Glendale to join them in applying for a $131,579 grant from the Corp. for National and Community Service in Washington, D. C.

Using grant money, the district would hire a part-time program coordinator to place between 150 and 200 students in tutoring and mentoring jobs with at-risk junior high students, said Fred Wells, coordinator of the volunteer center at Glendale Community College.

Students interested in working at the city--which would also hire a part-time coordinator--could volunteer in the police community services bureau or with the neighborhood services department, said Madalyn Blake, director of community development and housing in a report to the City Council.

Grants for the joint effort are available through the National Community Service and Trust Act signed into law by President Clinton last fall. The act encourages colleges to create volunteer programs--in part to allow students to work off college expenses through volunteering.

Community college students will have a tough time participating in this aspect of the program because volunteering to pay off college loans requires 900 hours of volunteer time over a three-year period to receive $2,300, Wells said. A majority of community college students spend two years in school.

Wells said the volunteer center at Glendale Community College was opened several months ago because of an increased number of students asking for help in finding volunteer positions. Grant money would be used to fund the center’s activities, he said.

The program has become popular because volunteer positions provide students with valuable insight into career goals and may also open the door for job opportunities, Wells said.

If Glendale Community College receives the grant, it will be only the third community college in the nation to devise an organized volunteer program, Wells said.

The City Council will consider the request at today’s meeting. Board of Education members will review the proposal tonight.