Here’s a treat for a Monday: a chance to share good news about the challenging FAFSA. This month and next, volunteers are standing by to help you fill out a FAFSA, in person, so you can get federal financial aid for college.

Kim Clark, who is always on top of financial aid news at U.S. News & World Report, just alerted her readers about the free FAFSA assistance in her article, Applying for Financial Aid Will Be Easier in 2010. Apparently, some of the volunteers will be tax professionals who will help students with both the FAFSA and their tax returns.

Since the FAFSA is the application you have to fill out in order to get a Pell Grant (and maybe other federal grants for college), getting free help with both the FAFSA and the 1040 sounds like a well-spent afternoon.