History

In 1991, Congress passed the National Community Service Trust Act, which provided funding for a small number of national service demonstration projects.  The Delta Service Corps was such a program.  With its focus on the lower Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest areas of the country, LDSC began mobilizing corps members to address critical community needs.  In 1994, new legislation was passed which supported a whole new contingent of national service programs across the country. Delta Service Corps applied for and became an AmeriCorps program.  Formerly, part of a tri-state partnership headquartered in Mississippi, the Louisiana Delta Service Corps currently is supported by a grant from the Volunteer Louisiana Commission in the Office of Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne. Throughout the Delta area LDSC members (who are AmeriCorps members) serve at local non-profit or government agencies for up to two years in exchange for a living allowance and a $5, 350 education award. Since 1992, over 1,120 members have served in the Louisiana Delta Service Corps.

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