After legislation failed to pass at the state level to provide scholarships to help cover education costs for public safety officers, Ivy Tech Community College decided to offer the opportunity for volunteer first responders across the state to get a two-year degree at no charge.
Volunteer fire departments across Brown County and throughout the state, especially in rural areas, struggle to retain the manpower needed to protect their communities. Ivy Tech has partnered with the Indiana Volunteer Firefighter’s Association to provide this scholarship opportunity.
“It is to address the shortage of volunteer first responders across the state,” said Steve Anderson, former president of the IVFA.
“Actually, nationwide, the number of volunteers has been decreasing. This is going to be a huge recruitment tool, but it’s also available for the retention of the current members as well.”
The hope is this opportunity will encourage more people to volunteer and get the state legislature to provide funding for a statewide program in the future, according to Ivy Tech.
The Volunteer Firefighter Scholarship program begins in January 2020 and Ivy Tech plans to pilot this program for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years. The scholarship will cover tuition and technology fees, but funds are limited, according to Ivy Tech.
Volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel are eligible. Interested students must enroll as “degree seeking” at Ivy Tech. The program also is available to current Ivy Tech students attending part or full-time.
There is no credit hour limit per semester, but students must maintain satisfactory academic progress, Ivy Tech states.
The scholarship cannot be applied to previous outstanding balances with Ivy Tech. Also, a paid firefighter cannot receive the scholarship. “(This scholarship) is intended for those individuals who work in another career, have to spend their own time getting trained as a firefighter or an emergency management service and don’t get paid to do so,” a frequently asked question sheet from Ivy Tech states.
In Indiana, seven out of 10 firefighters and emergency responders are volunteers.
During the last Indiana General Assembly, a House bill establishing a public safety officer scholarship to cover education costs at Ivy Tech did not pass. It was referred to committee. “What we need is as many young people as we can to get into this program. … If we can show that we have a lot of interest from our volunteers for this program, then maybe next year when it comes up again in the legislature we can get something passed. That’s what we’re trying to do,” said Steve Nolan, IVFA 17B public relations representative.
Nolan spoke at the monthly IVFA on Sept. 11 at the Brown County (Nashville) Volunteer Fire Department where Steve Gore received a life member award for his 50 years of service. Gore said finding people to volunteer to be emergency responders has always been a struggle, but it’s even more of a struggle now.
“When I was a kid, my dad had a regular job. Mom helped a little bit, but mostly she could do the house stuff, she could do Cub Scouts or whatever. But now, everybody and their spouses are working, a lot of time working two jobs, and it’s tough to have the time to do it even if you have the will to do it and the desire,” he said. “It’s tough to carve out the time because of how society has changed, but these guys (at Nashville Fire) are doing it.”
Anyone interested in this scholarship should apply to Ivy Tech if they are not currently a student and provide documentation proving their status with an emergency service. Find more information on the IVFA website at ivfa.org.
