About AmeriCorps
Disaster Services Economic Opportunities Education Environmental Stewardship Healthy Futures Veterans Services
Benefits of Service
The benefits that individuals serving with an AmeriCorps SC program are eligible to receive are listed below.
Living Allowance
Your living allowance will help cover the basic costs of living, which allows national service to be an option for everybody. Furthermore, living within tight economic bounds encourages AmeriCorps Members to relate more closely with the resource-limited communities they serve. (The amount of living allowance varies by program and term type. Please refer to the application process for each AmeriCorps SC program listed below for more details.)
Health Insurance
Health insurance, which meets Affordable Care Act standards, is provided to those serving full-time as AmeriCorps Members. Coverage varies by program, but general questions are addressed on this website.
Education Award
Following your successful completion of your AmeriCorps term of service, you will become eligible to earn the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. This can be applied to existing student loans or to future education endeavors. Each AmeriCorps Member can earn up to the equivalent of two full-time education awards, totaling over $11,000. Over 180 institutions of higher education will match your AmeriCorps Education Award.
Professional Development / Job Training
Many AmeriCorps Members utilize the valuable job training, professional development, and networking opportunities they participating in while serving in an AmeriCorps SC program to advance their career after their term of service.
Childcare Assistance
Full-time service Members may qualify for childcare assistance. The application process can be completed here.
Loan Forbearance
Your federal student loans qualify for loan forbearance (i.e. payment postponement) during your term of service. Furthermore, the federal government will pay for the interest that your loans accrue while in forbearance during your year of service. You can learn more about applying for loan forbearance here.
Meet Like-Minded Peers
You will get to serve alongside other service-minded peers who seek to strengthen our South Carolina communities. Further, you will join a network of over 1,000,000 AmeriCorps Alum, who can link you to resources and job opportunities following your AmeriCorps service. Register here to start receiving AmeriCorps Alum benefits today.
2023-2024 AmeriCorps SC Programs
Click on each tab below to view our entire portfolio! Each program has a link to apply following the description.
AmeriCorps members engage directly with families and communities, helping to ensure that all children start school ready to reach their highest potential.
Members will serve in a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade classroom to support the teacher, assisting with a variety of activities including small group instruction, supporting social and emotional needs of students, enriching family-school relationships, and monitoring student progress and attendance. Members will serve during and after regular school hours, in extra activities throughout the school year, and in e-learning environments.
AmeriCorps members will enroll students in one-to-one reading/ STEM engagement sessions with district-approved volunteers, engage parents about the importance of reading at home, increase home libraries through book distribution, and promote literacy and STEM through general outreach and community engagement in Richland, Lexington, Orangeburg, Newberry, and Fairfield Counties.
Members will provide reading interventions to preK–3rd grade students reading below grade level and provide support to BRUW’s Early Grade Reading Initiative known as the Waccamaw Region for Childhood Success. These sites will include elementary schools, out- of-school-time programs, child development centers, and community partner agencies. Members will address early grade reading success needs throughout the community and engage parents to support the academic growth of their children.
City Year Columbia is 1 of 29 City Year sites across the country. City Year AmeriCorps members serve as Student Success Coaches at elementary and middle schools within local school districts. Members will be paired with partner teachers within schools to provide ELA, Math, and SEL intervention assistance to students.
The Furman College Advising Corps places well-trained recent college graduates in under-resourced communities to establish a stronger college-going tradition. Collaborating with the schools’ counseling departments and using the NCAC ‘near-peer’ model, advisers form relationships with students through one-on-one meetings, group presentations, college tours, parent engagement activities related to the college applications process, and financial aid.
Pattison's Academy is a nonprofit that aims to unlock the potential of individuals with disabilities and empower their families by providing comprehensive, year-round programing. Service members will be able to serve in capacities of individualized education support, family engagement, child therapy support, volunteer engagement, and summer programming support.
The UWKC Ready Readers program focuses on helping elementary students in Kershaw County meet their literacy goals.
The Palmetto Conservation Corps is South Carolina’s only trail-based state AmeriCorps Program. The Corps completes service work on the Palmetto Trail, through public lands, in communities, and with various organizations throughout the state.
Members at SC Free Clinic Association serve as Community Health Workers (CHWs) at locations across SC. Members help provide patient navigation services to the most vulnerable and underserved populations, working closely with patients, medical providers, primary care teams, and other community agencies to improve access to care and patient outcomes.
The prevalence of health barriers to learning is higher in children of color and those in poverty, and these same children bear more burden of disease‚ due in part to their poor access to healthcare services. Healthy Learners is devoted to removing health barriers to learning with love and compassion by providing access to these critical services so that all children can be at their best in the classroom.
AmeriCorps members support the effort of the 988 Suicide && Crisis Lifeline at Mental Health America of Greenville County. Following an extensive training program, part-time members take calls on the 988 Lifeline while full-time members alternate between taking calls and serving in supporting areas such as training, resource coordinating, and quality improvement.
United for Health service members serve as mentors to youth who are at risk for substance misuse and serve to educate all youth on the truths and myths of drugs, how to achieve better mental health, and the signs of suicide.
The AmeriCorps Upstate program cultivates leaders who can positively impact our communities both now and in the future. Members of this team serve as Economic Mobility Coaches, providing vital services like assisting with community resources, benefits applications, goal setting, mentoring, and offering free income tax preparation through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
AIM is a full spectrum non-profit fighting poverty, hunger, and homelessness by rehabilitating homes, working one-on-one to provide rent and utility assistance to families facing eviction, and distributing food to families in need. AmeriCorps members will grow personally and professionally through monthly professional development opportunities, team building, and monthly group community service projects.
AmeriCorps members with the Financial Stability Project serve directly at a partner site for an 11-month term, helping families go from crises to financial stability. Members assist clients with crisis mitigation, connect clients to community resources, and help individuals and families apply for benefits through Thrive Hub. Members also provide basic financial literacy skills and tax preparation assistance.
The F.R.E.E Program (Financial Readiness and Education for Everyone) will help address the current economic hardships in South Carolina by matching AmeriCorps members with host nonprofit sites in the Tri-County Region. Members will provide access to financial literacy education through a one-on-one budgeting session or group workshop using the FDIC Money Smart curriculum and EVERFI pathway curriculum.
The Sustainability Institute’s goal is to create the next generation of conservation leaders while performing critically needed conservation projects across the lowcountry region. Service work focuses on habitat restoration, including restoration of salt marsh, construction of rain gardens and stormwater mitigation measures, water-quality testing and monitoring, and constructing trails, bridges and boardwalks in conservation areas.
UWP is designing a reading and math buddies program to help children in schools with high concentrations of poverty achieve educational success.
Where is AmeriCorps in South Carolina? Search our interactive map!
In-service Emergency Fund
SC Service Leaders understand that a term of service can be tough, and when unexpected financial challenges arise, it can make it even more difficult for an AmeriCorps Member to complete their service commitment. To help address this barrier, SC Service Leaders is pleased to announce the In-Service Emergency Fund. The intent of the In-Service Emergency Fund is to provide limited financial assistance to individuals currently serving in an AmeriCorps SC program who have experienced an unexpected expense that may impact their ability to successfully complete their term of service. To learn more, please click here.
AmeriCorps SC Alum