Put Your Service Hours To Work

Apply For A

 Presidential Volunteer Service Award

Due Monday, April 7th, 2008

 

The President’s Volunteer Service Award celebrates a student’s annual or lifelong commitment to volunteer services.

 

A Brief Description of The Award

 

The President’s Volunteer Service Award is issued by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation on behalf of the President of the United States to recognize the best in the American spirit, and to encourage all Americans to improve their communities through volunteer service, and civic participation.

 

The President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation

President George W. Bush created the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation in 2003 to help recognize the valuable contributions volunteers are making to our Nation.

 

  • The award can be earned by doing school service or other outside services such as scout projects, church projects, etc.

 

  • Simply being a member of a service oriented club, like Key Club, Youth Group at church, National Honor Society, etc. does not qualify you. The service you perform through these clubs is what qualifies you.

 

Guidelines

  • To earn an Award, you must keep a record of volunteer activities and the hours served. Activities may be kept as a diary or calendar, or tracked online with the USA Freedom Corps Record of Service, available at www.presidentialserviceawards.gov.

 

  • Each volunteer must submit an application and a record of service to Salem High School, including total service hours, where the service was done and signed by one or more of recipients. We will review and verify the record and distribute the Award.

 

  • While almost all volunteer service contributes to eligibility for the Award, volunteers are encouraged to participate in service that addresses particular areas of need in our Nation. Priority areas include:

 

Youth Achievement: Includes volunteer activities such as mentoring, coaching, tutoring, improving literacy in areas such as reading and finance, and volunteering to keep young people engaged academically in education.

 

Parks And Open Spaces: Includes volunteer efforts to conserve and protect our parklands and gardens, neighborhood cleanups and creating safe playgrounds. It also includes creating safe and meaningful experiences and outdoor activities for individuals to enjoy the environment and out natural resources.

 

 

(OVER)

Healthy Communities: Includes volunteer efforts to help the elderly, disabled, diseased, hungry or homeless, and to improve the economic health of the community. These could include volunteering for health and nutrition education services, immunization campaigns, resume building, career training, disease screenings, hospital support, blood drives, veterans outreach, working with local public health programs, micro-enterprise and business development.

 

Public Safety and Emergency Response: Includes volunteer efforts for individuals and families to make their homes, and their communities safer from threats of crime, terrorism, and disasters of all kinds. It includes preparedness training, volunteer firefighters, and programs like Citizen Corps, Neighborhood Watch, Medical Reserve Corps and Volunteers in Police Service.

 

  • Activities should be unpaid and may not include court-ordered community service.

 

  •  It should be a charitable community service, one which does not benefit an organization who may profit from your contribution.

 

  • Some examples of service which would not qualify:
    • A qualifying service might be: Participating in the clean-up of a public park.
    • A service which does not qualify: Helping to clean up land which is privately owned or owned by a business unless it is deemed to be a charitable effort.
    • Another qualifying service might be: Volunteering for a band who is putting on a free concert to benefit a charity.
    • A service which does not qualify: Volunteering for a band who is putting on a concert for profit.

 

There are several award levels. The requirements for the teen level are:

Teens (Ages 15 to 25)

Bronze Level – 100 to 174 hrs of service

Silver Level – 175 to 249 hrs of service

Gold Level – 250 hrs or more

 

Kids (Ages up to 14)

Bronze Level – 50 to 74 hrs of service

Silver Level – 75 to 99 hrs of service

Gold Level – 100 hrs or more

 

 

Applications can be picked up in the main office or you can be

downloaded from the Salem School District website.

www.salemschooldistrictnh.com

 

Completed applications must be submitted to the main office

by Monday, April 7th, 2008

 

For additional information, you may contact your school’s program coordinator,

Kay Barretto at kbarretto@sau57.org

You may also search the website:

www.presidentialserviceawards.gov