Initiative helps college students pay for school through public service

California Volunteers and a coalition of public and private universities are launching an innovative program to help students pay for college through public service.

Dominican University of California, University of California Berkeley, San Jose University and other universities in the state announced the Civic Action Fellowship initiative at 10 a.m. Monday from the State Capitol, Room 1190.

Members of the Fellowship will participate in service activities and projects aligned with pressing local and community challenges. The public service will be embedded in the academic curriculum that will allow students to stay on a four-year path to graduation and position them for employment, graduate school and a life of civic engagement.

Approximately $3.2 million in state and federal funds will support the Civic Action Fellowship initiative, and nearly $700,000 in additional funding will be awarded directly to fellows as scholarship funds.