Flathead Valley Community College will become one of Montana’s colleges and universities rewarding former AmeriCorps volunteers with a significant discount in education this fall.

On 15 campuses through 12 Montana schools, AmeriCorps volunteers will be able to use some of their education award and get a matched for some of that amount by the colleges and universities, all of which are members of the Montana Campus Compact.

Flathead Valley Community College will match $1,000 awards five times for a total of $5,000.

The compact is a coalition of Montana colleges and universities that seek to improve civic engagement, service learning and volunteerism. AmeriCorps is a national service organization that takes 75,000 Americans and puts them to work in their communities. AmeriCorps alumni receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to further their education.

Jane Karas, president of Flathead Valley Community College and chairwoman  of the Montana Campus Compact’s board of directors, said the marriage of the two service-learning groups was an obvious and necessary one. The college board voted unanimously to match the awards last November.

“My colleagues and I believe in the importance of student volunteerism and engaging with community,” she said. “By matching AmeriCorps Education Awards, we formally add support to the national effort to address our most pressing community needs.”

The applications for the matching education program will be released July 6, with a priority deadline of Aug. 14. A one-page essay explaining the impact of service in the life of the applicant will be required.

Wendy Jeschke, the service learning coordinator at the college, said the program would get more AmeriCorps students back into school.

“It’s a great opportunity for AmeriCorps alumni to pay for the cost of education,” she said. “It will be run like a tuition waiver, with a match up to $1,000. There are literally thousands of AmeriCorps programs, and when they come to school here they will transfer that award and be matched.”

Montana ranks first in the country in per-capita AmeriCorps members and is the second state in the country to become an Employer of National Service and encourage AmeriCorps and Peace Corps alumni to apply for jobs within Montana state government.

Since 1994, more than 8,800 Montana residents have served more than 8.5 million hours and qualified for Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards totaling more than $20 million.

During the 2013-14 grant year, Flathead Valley Community College enrolled 103 students in its AmeriCorps program.

They contributed more than 51,800 hours of service and earned more than $160,700 in education awards serving at locations such as Kalispell Regional Medical Center, Habitat for Humanity, Sparrow’s Nest, Montana Veterans Home and many others. The college was named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

For more information on the award match application process, contact Jeschke at 756-3908 or Danelle Whitten in the Financial Aid office at 756-3842.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.