Here at Volunteer Global, we believe that recognition for volunteer service is an excellent way toward volunteerism in general being held with higher esteem. What, then, can you do to have yourself or someone you know recognized for their awesome volunteering powers? The Presidential Service Award.

The Presidential Service Award is a prestigious way to both recognize volunteers and to be recognized for the service that you have dedicated to your cause or community.

A bit of history:

In 2003, the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation was established to help promote volunteerism and to recognize the communities and individuals who have been dedicating their lives to volunteer service.

Wanting to find a solid way to recognize their toil, the Council established the President's Volunteer Service Award to recognize individuals who have given a certain amount of time over a 12-month period or else over the course of their lifetime. By now, the President's Volunteer Service Award has been bestowed to more than 1.5 million volunteers who have worked with one of the thousands of certifying organizations.

The Award:

The award comes in four different levels: bronze, silver, gold, and the very honorable Presidential Volunteer Service Award. The hours required for the four levels vary accordingly and by demographics.

For example, children may achieve a silver award by volunteering 75 hours in a year, while adults will need to volunteer at least 250 hours in a year. Groups and families are also eligible for awards, although the amount of hours needed does increase significantly.

The most prestigious award, the Presidential Volunteer Award, requires a dedication of over 4,000 community service hours over a lifetime. All awards also include a letter from the President and a certificate for the recognition of your service. For more information about the levels of service awards, please click here.

How to Achieve the Award:

To achieve this award, you first need to register with the President's Volunteer Service Award and create a Record of Service. Record your volunteer hours (with a participating organization) over the course of a year or else over the course of your lifetime—hours may also be kept by the certifying organization.

If an organization that you volunteer with is not a certifying one, then there’s an easy process for them to join! Certifying organization can be faith-based, community service, schools or institutes of higher education, businesses, or other groups. The awards must be given through the certifying organization, and the packages, although not free, all cost less than five dollars and are an extremely affordable and effective way to recognize volunteers. While only US citizens can receive the Presidential Service Awards, volunteer abroad hours may be used if submitted to certifying organizations.

To become a certifying organization or to learn more about the Presidential Service Award, check out the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation website, or write to them at:
 

President’s Volunteer Service Awards
c/o Points of Light Institute
600 Means Street, NW suite 210
Atlanta, GA 30318