These programs provide great new challenges and exciting learning opportunities for many Washingtonians. Locke also met with Washington Service Corps and AmeriCorps members at the Artz-Fox Elementary School in Mabton, where program participants are working on a special summer reading program for elementary school children. The project was made possible though a grant from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and members of the Washington Service Corps and AmeriCorps. As a member of the state Legislature in 1992, Locke sponsored legislation to expand the existing Washington Service Corps, a community service program that began in 1983. Members who completed the program earned financial support for education, a concept that helped shape the creation of the national AmeriCorps program.
Members receive living allowances and health insurance.
Participants also can use the education award to pay back their student loans.