2021 CaliforniansForAll College Fellowship

Purpose

The CaliforniansForAll College Fellowship is a Governor’s initiative administered by California Volunteersin partnership with California colleges and universities with a strong commitment to civic and communityengagement. The purpose of this initiative is to build the next generation of civic leaders by engagingcollege students from all backgrounds in meaningful community service, while providing them with a pathtoward reducing college debt.

Description

Within the Office of the Governor, California Volunteers (CV) serves as the State Service Commissionresponsible for promoting service and volunteerism. California Volunteers’ mission is to empower andmobilize Californians to actively help tackle state and local challenges through volunteer and serviceaction. Since 1993, the office has successfully addressed many state and local challenges by investing inservice solutions, while leveraging public, private, and nonprofit resources.The CaliforniansForAll College Service Fellowship (“the Fellowship”) is a Governor’s initiativeadministered by California Volunteers in partnership with California colleges and universities with a strongtrack record of civic and community engagement. This program will bring together college studentsacross the state to help address urgent challenges in their communities, while simultaneously learningkey skills and earning money to help pay for college.Beginning in Fall 2022, more than 3,000 college students (including AB-540 eligible Dreamers) each yearwill join a statewide student service Fellowship working in the areas of K-12 Education, Climate Action,and Food Insecurity. Through this competitive procurement process, California Volunteers will select agroup of colleges and universities to administer the Fellowship on their campuses. The two key roles ofthe higher education partner are to: 1) recruit, select, and support the Fellows on their campus; and 2)recruit, select, and support the community organizations that will host their Fellows.The new College Fellowship creates multiple wins for students, higher education institutions, andcommunities across California:Students (Fellows) will receive a stipend for their service hours, as well as an Education Award uponcompletion of their service year. These resources should support a pathway to reduced student debt forlow- to moderate-income students. Through their work with community organizations or local government,Fellows will gain leadership skills and 21st century employability skills, as well as a sense of civicresponsibility.Higher education institutions will have a new strategy to recruit and engage students throughconnecting academic study to hands-on work experience that makes a positive impact. As ademonstrated high-impact practice, community service experience will help students graduate on time, acritical metric for every higher education institution. Participating colleges and universities will also expandtheir footprint and partnerships in the local community.Communities will benefit from the support of participating students at a pivotal juncture in the state’squest to build back stronger from the COVID pandemic. Fellows will tutor K-12 public school students,deliver meal assistance through local Food Banks, and take steps to mitigate the impact of climatechange across the state. All Californians will benefit from having a new generation of civic-minded leaderswith the skills, perspective, and experience to build stronger and more equitable communities across ourdiverse state.