Community Service Jobs

Program Highlight: Emory Reads

The Emory Reads tutoring program, an program under the Department of Education's America Reads Challenge, strives to help ensure that every American child can read well and independently by the end of third grade. This program is facilitated by the Office of Financial Aid and Emory students in compliance with federal regulations. We partner with Hands on Atlanta to identify local elementary and middle schools where Emory Reads participants will provide one-on-one literacy and/or math tutoring.

Emory Reads accepts participants for both FWS and volunteer roles in the following areas:

• Executive Board members: Plan carpool schedules based on tutor, driver, and school schedules.
• Tutors: Visit assigned schools on a weekly basis to tutor students in reading and math. Asked to commit to participating for a full semester to ensure continuity for students.
• Tutors + Carpool Drivers: Transport groups of tutors to schools on a weekly basis. Tutor students in reading and math. Asked to commit to participating for a full semester to ensure reliable transportation for tutors and continuity for students.

Participants earn $13-$18 per hour, including travel time, based on whether they perform tutoring responsibilities only or tutoring and driving responsibilities. Tutoring sessions generally run two hours each. Participants may be allowed to work multiple shifts per week.

Because of funding limitations for this program, students participating in Emory Reads through FWS are allowed to hold a second FWS position.

Would you like to be considered for the Emory Reads program?

Interested students must complete the Emory Reads Application and Student Agreement Form (PDF).

How we define Community Service

In partnership with our affiliate partners, we have defined "community service" as any work which either improves the quality of life for a community and its residents, particularly in underfunded communities, or solves particular problems related to the needs of a community and its residents. This work can include:

• Health care, childcare, literacy training, education (including tutorial services), welfare, social services, transportation, housing and neighborhood improvement, public safety, crime prevention and control, recreation, rural development, community improvement, emergency preparedness and response, and other similar activities;
• Service opportunities or youth corps under AmeriCorps, and service in the agencies, institutions, and activities described later;
• Support services for students with disabilities (including students with disabilities who are enrolled at the school)

A FWS community service position does not require a FWS student to provide a "direct" service, provided their work meets the definition above. Colleges and universities participating in the Federal Work-Study program may use discretion to determine which jobs provide service to the community, within the guidelines provided by the statute.

This definition conforms with the Department of Education FSA Handbook, Volume 6, Chapter 2 (6–57).