Advantage Shelby County students exceed 11,000 volunteer service hours

The Advantage Shelby County Scholarship is changing the future of Shelby County one hour and one student at a time –with over 11,000 hours of one hour, one student at a time.

Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule, deliberate practice can have an incredible positive impact on acquiring skills, can be applied to the work of the Advantage Shelby County Scholarship (ASC) students.  Since ASC launched in the fall of 2016, students have completed 11,210.34 service hours inside Shelby County and simultaneously increased the college attainment level of the county by 8%. 

Service hours continued even with the challenges of the pandemic.  Students and Shelby County non-profit agencies used creativity and perseverance to continue their efforts completing renovation projects and archiving historical documents, projects that during normal times are on the back burner for day to day volunteer activities.  Students may complete service hours at an established 501C3 located inside Shelby county.  Several of these 501C3 organizations include, but are not limited to: Shelbyville/Shelby County Animal Shelter, The Strand Theatre, Shelbyville Boys & Girls Club, Girls Inc., Shelby County Public Library, The Grover Museum, Shelby Senior Services, Knights of Columbus, Shelby County Master Gardeners, and St. Vincent DePaul – to name a few.

In exchange for local support, students agree to perform 10 hours of community service each semester as an eligibility requirement of the scholarship.  ASC students start service hours the summer prior to starting their college degree at Ivy Tech Community College and then complete 10 additional hours each fall and spring they are enrolled in college.   If a student uses the ASC scholarship for the full two years, they will complete 50 hours of service in Shelby County by the time they graduate with their associate degree. 

Current high school seniors in Shelby County still have time to apply for the ASC scholarship.  Students must apply to both the Advantage Shelby County Scholarship and Ivy Tech Community College by December 15^th.  The link to apply is www.ivytech.edu/shelbyadvantage – please use the orange apply now button to start the application process. As the first program of its kind in Indiana, Advantage Shelby County is a collaboration between city and county governments and Ivy Tech Community College. The program provides scholarship funding to qualified Shelby County students to pay tuition costs not covered by state, federal, or institutional aid.  Advantage Shelby County is a two-year college scholarship program specifically aimed at raising educational attainment and workforce readiness in Shelby County.  The college attainment level in Shelby County has increased by 8% since fall of 2016.  Anticipated ASC student enrollment will be approximately 175-180 students by the fall 2021.