History of the Education Award
While VISTA was launched in 1966 as one of President Johnson's Great Society programs, AmeriCorps was created by President Clinton with the passage of the National Service Act 27 years later. At that time, VISTA became part of AmeriCorps. The first AmeriCorps members hit the ground in 1994.
Prior to the creation of AmeriCorps, VISTA volunteers could receive forgiveness on a percentage of any Perkins Loan debt. This benefit still exists for VISTA members who elect not to receive an Education Award. (A list of VISTA-specific benefits is available in pdf format.)
During congressional negotiations over the formation of AmeriCorps, the amount of the Education Award for a full-time service year was set at $4,725. The amount was calculated as 90 percent of the Veterans Benefit at the time. Stephen Waldman's book, The Bill (1995, Viking Penguin) chronicles the history of the National Service Act from its vision through its passage.
In 2006, the U.S. Senate renamed the AmeriCorps Education Award as the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. Eli Segal helped establish the Corporation for National and Community Service and was its first CEO. He died in 2006.
