The Sharon Academy

Intended Goals of Community Service

·         To contribute to the school and the greater community,

·         To learn new skills,

·         To broaden perspective of the world through new experiences,

·         To become more at ease stepping into new situations,

·         To develop the life-long habit and value of service.

 

Community Service Requirements

·      Students must complete a minimum of 40 hours of volunteer service each year.

·      Students will have twelve months, July 1 to June 30, to complete this work.

·     There is no specific monthly requirement but students should be sure to plan ahead and not wait until the last minute.

·     Community service work may be done over vacations or holidays, including summer.

·     The entire requirement could be completed in condensed periods of time. For instance, students going on a service trip to the Dominican Republic, or volunteering for an organized event like a run for cancer might fulfill most of their hours during the same trip or event.

·     Students must fill out the school’s reporting form to get credit for their work. (Please note that the high school form differs from the middle school form.) The High School form is available on our website.

·     Work which does not fit the criteria below will not be counted as community service hours, even if the work has already been completed. If there is any doubt about the work a student is planning, please confirm ahead of time with the student’s advisor to make sure the work qualifies as community service. 

 

Work that Qualifies as Community Service

Examples of acceptable community service work include (but are not limited to):

·         Work for non-profit organizations or charities,

·         Support work for disabled or ill individuals as long as there is no payment and the person receiving the services is not a relative,

·         Any work which generates income as long as the income is then donated toward a charity (The number of hours worked is the figure used to calculate the community service hours.), 

·         Non-paid work for political campaigns,

·         Non-paid work for church or community groups,

·         Pre-approved school based work may count for community service work.

·         Students will be informed of both school and community related opportunities as the year progresses. The TSA newsletter will keep you informed of additional opportunities.

Receiving Credit for Community Service Work

·         Students are encouraged to use our form to record their community service experiences. Forms are available at school and posted on the TSA website.

·         Completed forms should be submitted to the student’s advisor. Forms can be submitted at any time throughout the school year.

·         Community service hours will be recorded by each student’s advisor. Hours will not be counted until a student has filled out and turned in the form.

·         High school community service work will be noted on a student’s college transcript.

·         The community service form requires an adult signature to vouch for the student’s work. Although it is preferable to obtain the signature of the person for whom the community service was performed, it is permissible for a parent to sign instead.