Frequently Asked Questions about AIDS United’s AmeriCorps program
The AIDS United AmeriCorps Program offers an exciting, challenging, and life-changing experience for members. Our recruitment process opened on January 3 and will continue through June 1, 2012. We receive hundreds of applications for our 54 member slots, so please apply early!
Please note that all placements for the 2012-13 service year are contingent upon funding continuation by the Corporation of National and Community Service; notice of funding will be received by May 31, 2012. Members will be offered conditional positions until funding is secured.
What qualifications or experience do I need to apply?
Our members do not need to have any particular experience to qualify. In order to apply, you must be at least 17 years old, a US citizen or permanent resident, and either have a high school diploma/GED or be working toward one during your year of service.
AIDS United AmeriCorps members come with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, with some having no previous HIV/AIDS experience and others having worked or volunteered in the field for years. Our members range in age from their early 20s to mid-life or later and come from all races, classes, sexual orientations, gender identities, physical abilities, educational attainments, and areas of the country. What is important to us is that our members have a passion for HIV/AIDS issues, social justice, and improving the lives of those who either have or are at risk for HIV/AIDS.
When would my year of service take place?
Our program’s service year runs from early August thru mid-July. The 2012-2013 service year will begin in August with a mandatory Pre-Service orientation training. You must be available to attend this training; no exceptions are possible. Since our program is team-based, all members start and end the year at the same time. Hence, we do not accept members for mid-year placement. Nor do we offer part-time or summer positions.
Where would I be serving? What would I be doing?
For the 2012-2013 service year, our AmeriCorps members are placed in one of the following sites:
· Albuquerque/Santa Fe, NM;
· Chicago, IL;
· Detroit, MI;
· Indianapolis, IN;
· New Orleans, LA;
· Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC;
· Cleveland, OH; and
· Washington, DC.
Part of the supplemental application process (see below) asks you to rank those sites in which you are interested in serving. If you are not interested in a city, you should not rank it.
After pre-service orientation, you would return to your city site and would be placed at a Host Agency. You would serve four days a week at this agency. The fifth day of every week would be spent with your team, doing service or team-building activities. Your Host Agency placement would be determined in consultation between you and your team supervisor, based upon your interests, the needs of the team, and the available Host Agencies for any given service year. You would generally work about 40 hours per week, although some weeks would require more hours if there is a big event at your Host Agency, with your team, or in your community.
Your work responsibilities would depend upon the Host Agency with which you were placed. Some members work with high school students to do prevention education. Some do outreach at bars or on the streets to people at risk for HIV, and others work with people living with HIV/AIDS. You can get more specifics about the possibilities available if you are interviewed by an AmeriCorps team supervisor.
Would I be paid? Are there benefits?
AIDS United AmeriCorps members receive a small stipend for their service. Member stipends for the 2011-2012 service year are $14,000 ($15,000 for those on Team DC because the cost of living in this city is so high). Stipend amounts for the 2012-2013 service year have not yet been determined. Members are also eligible for the federal AmeriCorps education award upon successful completion of their service year, as well as deferment of student loan interest. Child care benefits are available for the year, as are health insurance and a small amount of vacation time/sick leave.
Where will I live?
During your service year, you would be responsible for finding and paying for your own housing, and we cannot reimburse members for relocation expenses. However, your team supervisor could help you with suggestions on places to live in your host city. Some of our AmeriCorps members share apartments or group houses with each other or with non-AmeriCorps individuals, while others live on their own, either by themselves or with parents or children.
Can I be in school or take classes?
Although we do not prohibit members from attending school part-time during their service year, it is not recommended. We have an intense program that takes a lot time and energy. If possible, we recommend that members not take classes during the first semester of their service year. After serving during the fall, it may be easier for members to gauge if they will be able to handle taking classes during the spring. However, this remains the choice of each individual member who may want to attend school during her/his service year.
How can I apply?
We strongly encourage folks to apply online and early. We have quicker access to the online system than we do to anything sent via the mail, FedEx, or UPS – and submitting an application online doesn’t require you to pay shipping or postage! You can find the online application by going to www.americorps.gov(or, more specifically, https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do;jsessionid=d296ec9dfd72f9ce4647f385b61d00add1b12f6c033e04de6e3a77a2f65e0ce1.e38NchiLb3yKa40Lb30SbxaMchuMe6fznA5Pp7ftolbGmkTy?fromSearch=true&id=281).
However, if you do not have web access or are having problems with the online system that the AmeriCorps Help Desk cannot solve, a PDF version of the application can be obtained by writing americorps@aidsunited.org. Please print it, complete it, and mail it directly to AIDS United, 1424 K Street NM Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20005 Do not mail to the Corporation for National and Community Service! The PDF application asks all of the same questions as the web-based application.
Once we have received your application, we will send you our supplemental application.
What is the application review process? 
When we have received all of your supplemental application materials, we will forward your completed application on to your first-choice site. If that site is interested in interviewing you, they will contact you directly. If they decide to pursue other applicants, they will let us know and we will forward your application on to your second choice site, if you have indicated one on your supplemental application, and will inform you that your application has been forwarded. If you have not indicated another choice site on your application, review of your materials stops there.
Consideration time for applications varies but is usually around 2-3 months, sometimes more and sometimes less. Hence, you should expect to hear a final decision on your candidacy a couple months after we have received your completed application. Be aware, however, that it takes most people 2-3 weeks to get us a completed supplemental application, including essay questions, identification documents, and letters of recommendation. Consideration of your application cannot begin until all those items are in our office.
We strongly encourage people to apply early. While we will technically accept applications up through June 1, our admissions are on a rolling basis. Our program is very competitive, and slots begin to fill as early as the end of March, with teams starting to fill in late April. Hence, if you wait to apply until June 1, it is very likely that your first-choice team will have already been filled. So please get your materials in as soon as possible in order to have the greatest chance that your application will be fully considered. Please note that all placements are contingent upon funding continuation by the Corporation of National and Community Service; notice of funding will be received by May 31, 2012. Members will be offered conditional positions until funding is secured.
For additional information, please email americorps@aidsunited .org.