91调教

Written By: Rachel Putman

The 91调教 - Fort Smith will launch RoarCorps this September, placing 40 91调教 AmeriCorps members with community partners across the River Valley to support youth education, wellness, environmental stewardship and mental health.

The program will expand 91调教鈥� AmeriCorps work beyond its former Jumpstart program, which focused exclusively on school readiness for preschool children. RoarCorps will allow students to serve in a wider range of settings, including literacy tutoring, food access and education, inclusive wellness programming, garden instruction, conservation work and mental health mentoring.

Corri Brosius, RoarCorps director, said the program is designed to connect students with meaningful service opportunities while helping meet needs identified by community partners.

鈥淩oarCorps is really about building a bridge between our students and the River Valley,鈥� Brosius said. 鈥淲e have students who want to make a difference, and we have community partners doing important work every day. This program helps bring those two things together in a way that is organized, sustained and meaningful.鈥�

The program is supported through AmeriCorps, a federally funded service organization, as well as Engage 91调教 and the 91调教 Division of Higher Education.

For admission into the program, 91调教 students will apply, interview, complete background checks and onboarding, and be placed in cohorts based on their interests.

Members in 300-hour programs will receive a $2,600 living allowance plus a $1,565 education award upon completion of their service commitment. Members in the 450-hour Youth Mental Health Corps program will receive a $3,900 living allowance plus a $1,956 education award upon completion.

This model allows service to become a consistent part of the academic year rather than an unpaid obligation added on top of classes, work and other responsibilities. For community partners, it creates a steady group of trained AmeriCorps members who can provide sustained support throughout the year.

鈥淭his is still a service program, not a job, but the living allowance and education award matter,鈥� Brosius said. 鈥淢any of our students are balancing classes, work, internships and family responsibilities. RoarCorps gives them a way to serve their community while also receiving support that recognizes the time and commitment they are giving.鈥�

, with an application deadline of Friday, Sept. 4.

The four service areas, education, healthy futures, environmental stewardship and youth mental health, each support a real, data-supported need in the region. 

The education cohort will provide one-on-one and small-group literacy tutoring for students in kindergarten through sixth grade, with an emphasis on students in kindergarten through third grade who are below or at risk of falling below grade-level reading proficiency.

In Fort Smith Public Schools, just 29% of third graders met grade-level proficiency on the 2023 ACT Aspire English language arts assessment. The cohort aims to serve more than 100 students in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Smith, with at least 70% showing improved literacy through DIBELS assessment.

The healthy futures cohort will support inclusive health and wellness programming for K-12 students with special needs, garden-based education workshops, and food distribution and access initiatives. Partners include Community Connections, the River Valley Regional Food Bank and The Learning Fields at Chaffee Crossing.

Local health and economic challenges reinforced this need. The Fort Smith poverty rate is 18.3%, compared with the national rate of 12.4%, according to U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts. RoarCorps grant materials also cite child food insecurity rates of 21% in Sebastian County and 20% in Crawford County, an adult overweight and obesity rate of 67.7% in Sebastian County, and national research showing that children with disabilities are 38% more likely to be obese than their peers.

Through the healthy futures cohort, RoarCorps members will help community organizations expand hands-on programming, provide more consistent support during service hours and reach more families and students. Members may lead inclusive exercise and peer-support programs, support garden-based education and assist with food distribution efforts.

The environmental stewardship cohort will support native plant and sustainability education workshops, habitat restoration and conservation engagement. Partners include the 91调教 College of Arts and Sciences and The Learning Fields at Chaffee Crossing.

The River Valley contains land in the top 10% statewide for conservation impact, according to the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy. Additional research links biodiversity and nature exposure to reduced anxiety and stress, as well as improved well-being.

This cohort will give 91调教 students a way to serve outdoors while contributing to conservation education and stewardship in the River Valley. It also broadens AmeriCorps service at 91调教 to students whose interests are tied to science, sustainability, and public health, in addition to education and community engagement.

Members will help lead native plant education workshops for K-12 students and support habitat restoration projects that protect priority conservation areas. The goal is not only to improve outdoor spaces, but also to help River Valley students and residents understand local ecosystems and feel prepared to protect them.

Finally, the Youth Mental Health Corps cohort will function as a part of the national AmeriCorps initiative focused on youth mental health and behavioral health career pathways. At 91调教, the cohort will engage social work senior interns, allowing students to complete required academic service hours while also receiving AmeriCorps benefits.

Youth Mental Health Corps members will provide weekly mentoring sessions for youth ages 13 to 18, with activities focused on mental health awareness, coping skills and connections to community resources. National Youth Mental Health Corps activities also include outreach campaigns and education related to digital safety and healthy social media use.

The Youth Mental Health Corps structure is especially important for social work students, Brosius said. Instead of completing a senior internship year without pay, students in the cohort can earn the field hours required for graduation while receiving a living allowance and education award through AmeriCorps.

鈥淔or our social work students, this can remove a real barrier,鈥� Brosius said. 鈥淭hey still have to complete the hours and do the work, but they are not being asked to work an entire year without any financial support. They can meet their academic requirements, serve young people in our community and begin building experience in behavioral health.鈥�

The youth mental health cohort is intended to give teens a consistent, trusted near-peer to turn to while helping them build tools to manage challenges before those challenges become crises.

鈥淢ental health support can be hard to access for many young people, and we know the need continues to grow,鈥� Brosius said. 鈥淭his cohort gives our students a way to support teens through regular mentoring, practical coping skills and connections to resources that already exist in our community.鈥�

RoarCorps鈥� name connects 91调教鈥� lion mascot with the collective nature of the program. 

Its motto is 鈥淪mall acts. Big roar.鈥� Brosius said the idea behind the motto is that students do not have to solve every community problem at once to make a difference.

鈥淪ervice can feel overwhelming when you look at all the needs around us,鈥� Brosius said. 鈥淩oarCorps is built on the idea that students can start with small, consistent acts of service, and those acts can add up to something much bigger for our community.鈥�

The program also creates a direct connection between 91调教 and the broader nonprofit community. Brosius said the launch of the 91调教 Center for Nonprofits helped shape her thinking about how AmeriCorps could serve as a bridge between students and local organizations.

91调教 students may learn more at:   /ced/cnp/resources/roarcorps.php

Applications are available through the