♪♪♪ Josh: You guys ready to go?

Ready to work?

Good to see you.

How are you?

Hey, how are you?

Good to see you.

Narr: Teamwork and hard work are the lessons being learned today at this Sacramento Elementary School.

But the students learning these lessons aren't in elementary school.

They're California college students, part of a new college core volunteer program.

Volunteer student leaders from community colleges and four year schools across the state are in California's Capitol for a retreat and an opportunity to give back to the community by planting trees at David Reese Elementary School.

Josh: We want you to find purpose in your life through this program.

Josh Fryday is California's chief service officer overseeing the state's volunteer programs, including this one.

College Corps is focused on giving back to the state through volunteering.

Josh: You are helping your community now.

It's a win for your community.

- What we're saying to a whole new generation of Californians, if you're willing to serve your community, we're going to help you pay for college.

So for those students who commit to serve for a year while they're in school, we give them $10,000 towards their education.

Were looking for young people who want to create change.

Who want to make the world a better place, who have financial need.

But also want to be connected in their communities.

So we have over 10,000 people apply for those 3000 slots.

Narr: One of the students here today is LeMarcel McDowell, studying business administration at Glendale Community College.

For LeMarcel, this program provides financial help, but just as importantly, an opportunity to give back to the community.

LeMarcel: Finances get really, really tough when it comes to getting your school supplies and books and things like that.

So it does help with that and just, you know, everyday living situations.

Like it helps me with not only my schooling, but just for like gas and trying to get back and forth to class and volunteering.

Narr: As part of his College Corps commitment, LeMarcel helps with food distribution at the Glendale Community College Cares Program.

LeMarcel: We don't realize how blessed we are and we take things for granted.

So that motivates me every single day to get up and come help volunteer.

As a kid growing up, I used to hear this word all the time.

You have a heart of gold.

I never knew what they understood because I came from a really broken background.

I didn't have both parents growing up, so I was really lost.

And.

But I knew deep down inside, if you treat people the way you want to be treated, you can go really far in life.

And just a simple smile can change someone else's day.

Narr: The program is also open to DREAMers, undocumented students who were brought to the U.S. as children.

Karla Martinez is a Glendale Community College student and a dreamer in the program.

Karla: We lived there in Oaxaca with my grandmother, and after she had passed away, we moved to America.

And we've been here ever since.

And I don't remember much because I was three years old.

So I grew up here, and I call this my home.

Karla: You have to filled out the form, correct?

Student: Yeah.

Karla: I'm very grateful for College Corps its a very unique program and it's really, really helping our DREAMer students succeed and continue that pursuit of higher education.

A lot of DREAMer students, especially during the pandemic, we saw that their enrollment rate in colleges had dropped.

Narr: Community colleges across California are working to rebound from a significant enrollment drop.

At the same time, student completion rates continue to be very low.

One factor, many students struggle with paying for housing, food and basic needs.

Ideally, the program's support offered here can help ease that financial burden that forces some students to drop out.

Josh: This is a key program for all Californians.

But here's what we know.

We know we're facing a student debt crisis that's saddling our young people with... with debt.

So this program is really focused on dealing with the student debt crisis by providing debt free pathways for those who are willing to earn it by serving their community.

Narr: There is something else happening in the College Corps program too.

The program offers a path for volunteers to hone their leadership skills.

Those skills are on display today, back at that, Sacramento Elementary School.

Josh: It benefits the state in a huge way.

First of all, we're graduating our next generation with less debt, which means that they can contribute more to our economy moving forward.

They're also providing really meaningful work that tutoring and mentoring our kids, theyre providing -- helping us deal with our climate action issues and helping us protect our state.

They're also serving in our food banks that are providing a real need.

Narr: Organizers are hoping initial successes helped this program take root for long term sustainability.

What we're also creating is a whole new generation of Californians who are going to have the tools and now the skills to work with people from very different backgrounds, very different perspectives to solve our problems, to find common solutions in our communities.