Community Service

Contact: Ms. D’Amico

Room 342
[email protected]
 FAQs
• How many hours of community service does
Hunter require for graduation?
• 75 hours
• Can I do all of my hours at Hunter?
• 25 at HCHS/HCES/in school and 50 outside, or all
75 outside
• By when should I have my hours completed?
• Preferably by the end of junior year
• What happens if I don’t complete my hours by
the end of senior year?
• You will not be able to graduate.
 Where can I volunteer?
• Museums
• Schools
• Theatres
• Parks Department
• Nursing homes
• Soup kitchens/food pantries
• Public libraries
• All organizations that are non-profit, 501c3
 Can I volunteer at my church,
synagogue, mosque, temple?
• Yes, as long as the activity does not involve
any kind of promotion or advocacy for a
particular religious institution, or participation
in religious rites/ceremonies. These activities
are not recognized as community service.
• We do recognize work for the following:
• Soup kitchens
• Clothing drives
• Canned food drives
 Can I volunteer abroad?
• If you want to make sure that your work
abroad will count as community service, email
the Community Service Coordinator or stop by
their office before making such plans.
• All out-of-country volunteering must be
approved prior to service in order to receive
HCHS service credit for it.
 Can I work for a campaign?
• Work done for a campaign, in any capacity, is
not considered service.
• Any work done for a public servant, other than
campaign work, is considered community
service.
 Can I volunteer at camp?
• Yes, as long as it is non-profit, you are not in a
Counselor-in-Training program, and the camp
does not explicitly involve religious
instruction.
• 50 hours is the total you can receive for
volunteering at camp.
 Can I get service hours for
attending a service club?
• You cannot receive hours just for attending
such a club, even if during club time you do
service work.
• You can receive hours for work outside of
school that your service club has organized, as
long as that work is affiliated with a non-profit
organization.
Can I get service hours for internships
or lab work?
• You cannot receive service credit for lab work
and for most unpaid internships. If the
internship is for a service organization, you can
receive credit, and the Community Service
Facilitator will judge other internships on a
case-by-case basis.
• The service work that you do should clearly
and directly benefit others, not just yourself.
 How do I log my service hours?
• You log your hours on the website x2Vol.com,
which you should already have an account
with (Visit the IT Department if you do not.)
• If you have yet to log hours, but have your
password, go to the website and follow the
instructions.
• Fill in all required information that the website
asks of you.
What should I remember when I’m
logging my service hours?
• Make sure that you provide the name of the 501c3 non-profit
organization you did the service for.
• Provide a brief description of what you did, not just a
description of what the organization does.
• Write a brief reflection—I love them!
• Provide the date(s) of service and whether in school or out of
school.
• Break down any dates and hours for more than 10 hours of
service.
• Provide the email address of your volunteer supervisor.
• Log your hours soon after you do them, as you only have 6
months after the time of service to receive credit for them.
 What proof of my volunteer work
do I need to provide?
• The only proof you need is the online verification by
your volunteer supervisor.
• When you put in the email of your supervisor, x2Vol
sends them an email and a verification link.
• If the volunteer supervisor does not want to verify
this way or does not get the email, they can provide
you with a letter, on letterhead, that you can upload
as a pdf onto x2Vol.com.
 What does not count as
verification of volunteer service?
• Paper verifications submitted to the
Community Engagement Coordinator
• A photo of you at a volunteer event, or a flyer
for a volunteer opportunity
• Verification by a club member or student. Only
adults may verify.
 What should I do after I’ve
submitted my hours on x2vol.com?
• Check your account after you’ve submitted:
• To see if your volunteer supervisor has verified
your hours (if not, you should press
“resubmit” and/or contact them)
• To see if the Community Engagement
Coordinator has left you any notes on your
entry about issues with your submission that
are hindering approval of hours. These notes
are in the “Comments” section.
 What if I do regular volunteer work at a
particular place? How often should I log?
• You should log at least once a
month by bundling the hours for
the month
• You should never go 6 months
without logging hours
 Where can I find volunteer
opportunities?
-The Hunter website, where I regularly post volunteer
opportunities
-HCHS Service clubs: 365, Key Club, HAAH, etc.
-http://studentsforservice.org/
-www.teenlife.com
-www.nycservice.org
-www.newyorkcares.org
The best way is to think about what sort of service you’d like
to do and do a google search for that kind of volunteer service
in the area(s) where you’d like to do it. Then, contact the
organization(s).
 Anything else I should know?
• The Community Service Guidelines and this
Powerpoint are posted on the school website
under “Resources” and then “Community
Service.”
• Students who complete the requisite service
hours and show exemplary dedication and
passion will be considered for the Hunter College
High School Award for Exemplary Community
Service at the end of their junior year.