How Volunteering Can Help Pay Off Student Loans in 2025

In September 2024 alone, there were 3,337 Peace Corps volunteers. Volunteering is not only a meaningful way to give back, but your service may also qualify a portion of your student loans for cancellation. Several national and state programs, such as the Peace Corps, provide volunteer opportunities that help you pay off your student loans after donating your time.

Here’s what you need to know about volunteering to help pay off student loans, including organizations that offer this benefit and tips for maximizing student loan relief.

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Can volunteering help pay off your student loans?

If you’ve always wanted to work in community service, volunteering domestically or abroad can offer a unique cultural experience, build crucial workforce skills and connections, and, as a bonus, even reduce your student debt. Volunteering can be an important introduction to public service and leadership that pays dividends toward your future career.

The volunteer organizations offering student loan assistance provide benefits in a couple of different ways. They either provide a monetary award that can go toward your student loans at the end of your service, or they may offer credit toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) — or a combination of the two.  

Several major programs include AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, and the Shared Harvest Foundation. Generally, though, most volunteer service doesn’t qualify for student loan forgiveness or reimbursement.

What volunteer programs offer student loan benefits?

AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps is a national government program that places volunteers in communities around the country. It offers several programs under the AmeriCorps umbrella with their own unique focus, including VISTA, NCCC, State and National, City Year, and Teach for America.

How it can help pay loans: Volunteers who complete a full term of service may be eligible to receive the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $7,395 (for 2025-26), equivalent to the maximum Pell Grant. You can also earn a partial amount for less than full-time hours. You can apply your award to further education or to paying off existing qualifying federal or state student loans.

“As program changes occur both to volunteer organizations and the federal student loan programs, borrowers will be responsible for meeting their repayment obligations,” says Stacey MacPhetres, senior director of education finance at EdAssist by Bright Horizons. “Review all communications from federal student aid and/or loan servicers,” she adds.

Peace Corps

The Peace Corps sends volunteers abroad for two years of service in community development. You could work in education, agriculture, economic development, or health care. Most opportunities require a four-year degree, though some may be open to people with an associate degree and relevant work experience.

How it can help pay loans: Your service qualifies your federal loans for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The Peace Corps also awards a readjustment benefit of $10,000 for two service years and $20,000 for certain high-need positions when you return to the U.S. You could apply this benefit to your student loans.

Perkins Loan cancellation for the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps

While Perkins Loans don't qualify for PSLF, both the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps also offer partial Perkins Loan cancellation for eligible volunteers who have these loans. You may receive 15% off for each of your first and second years, and 20% each for a third and fourth year, for a possible total of 70% loan cancellation.

Shared Harvest Foundation

Founded in 2018, the Shared Harvest Foundation's mission is to connect volunteers to disaster response projects and community-based organizations serving vulnerable populations in exchange for student loan repayment.

Currently, the Shared Harvest Foundation is focused on wildfire disaster relief work in Altadena, California, through the DENA Forward Alliance. According to the organization, other volunteer engagements are paused, but interested applicants should look for updates in fall 2025.

How it can help pay loans: As you complete volunteer projects, usually requiring no more than four to eight hours per month, you earn reward points that translate into $150 to $500 in student loan relief. The Shared Harvest Foundation pays your student loan servicer directly.

Connecticut Student Loan Reimbursement Program

Enacted in 2025, the Connecticut Student Loan Reimbursement Program offers student loan reimbursements of up to $5,000 per year for up to four years ($20,000 cap) to eligible residents who volunteer with a qualifying Connecticut organization. The program's mission is to provide financial relief to Connecticut volunteers with student debt.

Residents must have graduated from a Connecticut college or university and meet the income eligibility requirements. A spokesperson from the Office of Higher Education advises interested applicants to “check Connecticut's Office of Higher Education website after July 15, 2025, for the most up-to-date information and requirements regarding the 2025-26 program.” The program is funded through December 2026, but it's worth checking to see if it will continue beyond that date.

How it can help pay loans: After completing 50 hours of service at a qualifying Connecticut organization, such as a nonprofit, municipal government, or military service, you may receive a reimbursement of up to $5,000 to apply to loans you're actively repaying. The reimbursement may be applied to federal, state-sponsored, or private student loans — but be sure to double-check the most recent requirements.

How does Public Service Loan Forgiveness apply to volunteers?

Serving with AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps qualifies your federal student loans for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. These loans include Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, and Direct Consolidation Loans.

For loan payments to count toward PSLF, you must be enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan, and it’s best to enroll as early in your service as possible to maximize the number of PSLF payments you’ll receive credit for. You’ll also need to work for other qualifying PSLF employers to meet the required 120 payments (10 years) before your loans are forgiven, though the employers don’t need to be consecutive. If you don’t have a lot of student debt, and you’re considering working in the private sector, PSLF may not be the right choice for you. 

If you decide instead to put your loans in forbearance or deferment during your service, you can apply a lump-sum education payment toward your loans at the end of your service and still receive PSLF credit. Here’s how it works: 

• AmeriCorps: You can apply some or all of your Segal AmeriCorps Education Award toward your qualifying loans and receive up to 12 qualifying PSLF payments. Alternatively, if you continue to make income-driven loan payments during your service, you could receive more than 12 qualifying payments toward PSLF.
• Peace Corps: You can make a lump-sum payment with your readjustment benefit within 6 months of returning and receive up to 12 PSLF-qualifying payments.

What are the pros and cons of using volunteer work to reduce student loan debt?

If your life goal is to either work abroad or in community service domestically, then volunteering makes sense — and the student loan help is an added benefit. But if your primary goal is student debt relief, volunteering isn’t necessarily the best path toward paying off your loans.  

“Given that the path to forgiveness isn’t always smooth or guaranteed, I would not necessarily encourage a borrower to take on this type of work for the sole purpose of partial or full loan forgiveness,” says MacPhetres.

Tips for maximizing student loan relief through volunteering

Each organization operates a little differently, so you’ll need to stay on top of the details to ensure you receive the benefits you’re eligible for. Follow these steps:

• Verify PSLF employer eligibility: The Peace Corps and AmeriCorps qualify as PSLF employers, but if you intend to work for additional public service employers to meet the 120-payment requirement, you need to verify they qualify through the PSLF employer search tool.
• Enroll in an income-driven repayment plan: The most reliable way to keep your PSLF payments moving forward is to make student loan payments through an income-driven repayment plan during your Peace Corps or AmeriCorps service. Alternatively, you can explore making a lump-sum payment toward your loans once you receive your Segal Americorps Education Award or Peace Corps readjustment benefit.  
• Keep detailed records of employment and payments: “Borrowers who have qualifying time spent with qualifying employers should monitor their repayment months as reported on their Federal Student Aid dashboard,” says MacPhetres. A report in July 2025 indicated the dashboard’s payment tracker was experiencing issues, so you should maintain your own detailed records as you accumulate PSLF payments.
• Ensure you understand other programs’ requirements: If you’re volunteering through a program like the Shared Harvest Foundation, make sure you understand the volunteer requirements and how benefit payments are applied to your student loans.