This semester students and the community will be tied together in a seemingly unusual medium — healthcare.

In late 2013, Josh Carpenter co-founded the nonprofit corporation Bama Covered. The organization is based solely on volunteers, specifically students in two-year colleges, four-year colleges or graduate school.

“It is a student-powered grassroots education initiative that focuses on helping families make the best decision for themselves,” Carpenter said. “Our goal is to build a strong student-coalition base to go out into the community to educate and help others.”

The state is split into 10 regions and establishing chapters on as many college campuses in Alabama as possible is a major goal, he said.

Sending college students into the community to teach others is going to depend on the training, but the organization is very promising, said professor of nursing Marilyn Lee.

“I don’t think you can ever have too many people to help, especially students,” Lee said. “To see the students getting involved in it, they can talk to other students. It’s important that students understand that you may be healthy today but nobody has the guarantee that you’re going to be healthy tomorrow.”

Concerning the Affordable Care Act, the organization leans neither way politically, Carpenter said.

“We’re not for or against the law,” he said. “We’re for healthcare. It’s about people, not politics. The people deserve to make an informed decision about healthcare.”

With the Affordable Care Act, healthcare for students will be fairly inexpensive, Lee said.

“I heard Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health (and Human Services) say that young people like students in college will be able to get healthcare for about the cost of your cell phone,” she said. “It really doesn’t have to be expensive and yet if something awful happens like (a car accident and) you’re covered.”

Bama Covered is appealing specifically to students in healthcare-related fields, but includes social work students, political science students or any student who knows a person without insurance and wishes to be educated on the subject., Carpenter said.

“It’s fantastic experience for students,” Carpenter said. “It gives them the chance to engage with a big law and policy levels, and to apply that to individuals.”

The future of the organization is unclear, as after March 31 the corporation will move onto other subjects, such as immigration, Carpenter said.

“Every single one of us has had something happen to us unexpectedly that has influenced our health in some way,” Lee said. “If you have a car accident tomorrow and you have a neck injury, believe me, you’ll hope that you have health insurance so that you can go and get the therapy you need or anything just to help with the pain management. The more students that are out there walking the walk and talking the talk, I think the better it’s going to be.”

For more information or to become a student volunteer, visit bamacovered.org.