President’s Volunteer Service Award

Service

The President’s Volunteer Service Award is an award through the Office of the President of the United States, the Points of Light Foundation, and the Corporation for National and Community Service.  Our Girl Scout Council is a certifying organization for this award, which means you submit your volunteer hours to them and they will certify them and order the award for you.

Below are some Frequently Asked Questions.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE?

  • United States citizensor lawful permanent residents of the United States (i.e., green card holder). (This is a requirement of the PVSA program.)
  • Must be at least five years old.  (This is a requirement of the PVSA program.)
  • Complete eligible service within a 12-month period.
  • Must be a registered member of Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast in order for our Council to certify your volunteer hours for this award.

WHAT “YEAR” DOES OUR COUNCIL USE?
They use the Girl Scout year: October 1st through September 30th.

HOW DO I KEEP TRACK OF MY HOURS?
Track them in a spreadsheet.  You’ll need to record:

  • The DATE of the activity
  • The NAME of the benefiting organization
  • A brief DESCRIPTION of what you did
  • The number of HOURS you volunteered for that activity.

Be sure you keep each person’s hours separately.

WHEN & HOW DO I REPORT MY HOURS?
In the early fall, our Council will send out a link to an online form.  You’ll enter the total number of service hours you worked in the past year on this form.  All hours must be submitted by October 31 of each year.

This information is processed through the Girl Scout honor code. Please be sure you are submitting accurate and true hours.  You will need to keep the spreadsheet you created to track these hours as a backup log. The spreadsheet is also a handy reference when filling out college and job applications.

IT’S OCTOBER AND I DIDN’T GET THE LINK. HOW DO I TURN IN MY HOURS?
If you missed the newsletters containing the link, contact our Council before the last weekday in October.  They can send you the link.
info@girlscoutsccc.org or 800-822-2427

HOW MANY HOURS ARE NEEDED TO EARN THE AWARD?

Bronze Silver Gold
Kids (5 to 10 years old) 26 to 49 hours 50 to 74 hours 75 or more hours
Teens (11 to 15 years old) 50 to 74 hours 75 to 99 hours 100 or more hours
Young Adults (16 to 25 years old) 100 to 174 hours 175 to 249 hours 250 or more hours
Adults (26 or more years old) 100 to 249 hours 250 to 499 hours 500 or more hours

MY DAUGHTER VOLUNTEERED WITH ANOTHER ORGANIZATION.
DO THOSE HOURS COUNT?
Most likely! This award is not limited to hours volunteering with Girl Scouts.  Unpaid volunteer hours spent nearly everywhere count.

CAN I APPLY FOR THE AWARD? CAN I USE THE HOURS I VOLUNTEERED AS A TROOP LEADER OR TROOP PARENT?
YES!  If you meet the eligibility requirements listed above, you can apply for the award, too!  And yes, any hours you spend volunteering with Girl Scouts count and just like your daughter, you can submit eligible hours spent volunteering with other organizations.

WHAT DOES NOT COUNT?

  • Donating funds
  • Political lobbying (Non-partisan voter registration is an eligible activity)
  • Religious instruction
  • Conducting worship service
  • Proselytizing
  • Volunteer service performed as part of court-ordered community service
  • Serving only family members

WHAT IF THE ORGANIZATION PAID MY PARKING FEES OR REIMBURSED ME FOR SOME EXPENSES?
Travel stipends, transit/parking passes, membership passes, expense reimbursements, and other nominal volunteer support do not impact service eligibility

MY DAUGHTER’S TROOP ISN’T PARTICIPATING.  CAN SHE STILL EARN THIS AWARD?
YES. This is an individual award and all Girl Scouts can earn it even if no one else in the troop is participating.

DOES MY DAUGHTER HAVE TO BE IN A TROOP TO EARN THIS AWARD?
NO. This is an individual award and Girl Scout Juliettes are welcome (and encouraged!) to earn it.

WON’T MY DAUGHTER’S TROOP LEADER TAKE CARE OF THIS FOR US?
MAYBE. You need to check with the troop leader to find out how your troop handles this.  Since this is an individual award, many troops have the families track and submit the hours themselves.

I’VE PARTICIPATED IN THE PAST BUT CAN’T GET INTO MY OLD ACCOUNT.  NOW WHAT?
Contact the PVSA program directly.  Early in 2019 they shut down the old system for tracking hours. We have no control over that system and can not help you gain access, only they can.  There is a link to their website below.

I HAVEN’T HEARD OF THIS PROGRAM BEFORE. WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION?
On the organization’s website:
https://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/