ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the AmeriCorps program, has awarded the Cornell University Public Service Center's Raising Education Attainment Fellowship Challenge (REACH) program with 25 AmeriCorps educational awards, totaling $27,000. The funds will support 25 REACH/AmeriCorps fellows, who will work with local nonprofit organizations to mobilize Cornell students to help tutor and mentor children in the Ithaca area and in surrounding schools and communities.

REACH is a student-driven and -initiated program at Cornell established in 1999 to coordinate and strengthen services provided to Ithaca area schools and community agencies. It includes REACH fellows as well as America Reads Challenge (ARC) and America Counts Challenge (ACC) federal work-study students. Fellows recruit, mobilize and organize a diverse group of student tutors, helping them gain the necessary resources, peer support and leadership skills to assist in enhancing the academic achievement of area children in pre-K through ninth grade.

REACH/AmeriCorps fellows serve 300 hours during the academic year. Fellows who complete their service earn an education award of $1,000 to help pay for college or graduate school, or to pay back student loans.

The Corporation for National and Community Service also manages the Senior Corps, Learn and Serve America and AmeriCorps*VISTA programs. Together, the programs of the corporation engage more than 2 million Americans each year in meeting critical needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security and other areas. The corporation and its programs are part of USA Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foster a culture of citizenship, service and responsibility. For more information: http://www.nationalservice.org .

The Cornell Public Service Center was founded in 1991 to support, expand and institutionalize the civic engagement initiatives of Cornell students and faculty by connecting academic study with practical experiences in participants' communities. The center's mission is to champion the conviction at Cornell that service is essential to active citizenship. For more information on the Public Service Center, visit this Web site: http://www.psc.cornell.edu .