The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce is seeking business volunteers to assist at Financial Aid Saturday events across the Central Texas region. This year, the Chamber plans to host 27 fall events to help area families file the 2017-2018 FAFSA starting in October.

Volunteers wishing to help families at events must RSVP to attend a training session between September 19 and October 5. All volunteer trainings are held partnership with TG and will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. over a complementary lunch.

You may RSVP for a training session here.

Volunteer trainings and Financial Aid Saturday events align with the U.S. Department of Education decision to continue to allow families with class of 2018 seniors to file for FAFSA starting October 1.

“Thanks to the efforts of volunteers, we had a record FAFSA filing rate of 64 percent for the class of 2017 graduating seniors in June,” said Gilbert Zavala, Vice President of Education and Talent Development. “Typically, Austin area filings have only totaled 60 percent in December, and these earlier filings mean more families are connected with funding for college.”

Financial Aid Saturdays are part of the Greater Austin Chamber’s Direct-to-College Plan (DTC 70), where multiple businesses, chambers, and school districts have partnered to commit to enrolling 70 percent of Central Texas graduating seniors directly into higher education. Last year, the program helped DTC70 partners lead the state in Q1 FAFSA filings yielding roughly $130 million in federal, state, and institutional aid to help Central Texas families afford college.

The program provides free assistance to central Texas high school seniors, prospective college students, and parents needing help to complete both federal and state aid applications to fund college enrollment.