President’s Volunteer Service Award

President’s Volunteer Service Award

The President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) is a national award that celebrates and recognizes as role models those US citizens and lawfully admitted permanent residents who make a positive impact in their communities. This award encourages SEM Students to get out into their community, to serve others less fortunate than themselves, and to inspire others in the call of service. This Presidential recognition encourages our students to not just be leaders in their own community, but to be game changers who make a difference in the world.   Special thanks to Mr. Palacios, who spearheaded SEM to become an official certifying organization so that our students can participate in this national recognition program!

HOW TO APPLY: SEM Students, please read the attached information about the PVSA award and how to apply!  PVSA best practices

You must include the coversheet with your signed log(s). NOTE! Your application is NOT complete WITHOUT the signed logs AND COVERSHEET!

SEM will certify current year hours only (ie, your fiscal year must encompass the majority of 2023) for individual students. Students wishing to apply for the award for the 2023-24 school year must catalog their hours with the required signatures and submit them IN ONE PDF FILE WITH COVERSHEET to the PVSA Chair at pvsa@semagnet.org  by March 30 at 11:59 pm CST.

SEM follows the national guidelines available on their website. For more information specific to SEM, see the PVSA instruction sheet and sample excel spreadsheet. And don’t forget your COVERSHEET!

Please submit your volunteering hours to qualify for the President’s Volunteer Service Award. You may select your own 12-month fiscal year period such as school year, calendar year, or other — based on your volunteering pattern. Whatever 12-month period selected, make sure to keep it — going forward.

Please note this award is separate from your SEM school volunteering requirement and you can include those hours for the PVSA award.

The President’s Volunteer Service Award was created to honor Americans whose demonstrated commitment to service inspires others to engage in volunteer service. This award can be earned annually by meeting the following criteria:

• Recipient(s) must be a United States citizen or a lawfully admitted permanent resident of the United States.
• Awards are issued for service hours served within a 12-month time period or over the course of a lifetime.
• Awards are issued for unpaid volunteer service that is not court-ordered.

Hours are measured over a 12-month period and awards are designated based on cumulative hours. The awards are offered in multiple levels and are designed to recognize each milestone of your service achievement. Levels include bronze, silver, gold, and the highest honor — the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for those who contribute more than 4,000 hours of service in their lifetime. The hours required vary based on the age of the applicant as shown below:

All hours entered must be supported by a log SIGNED BY A SUPERVISOR. The log should include dates, hours, signature and printed name of supervisor, and contact information. You may use your organization’s form, your own form, or the sample excel template provided here.

* If you are turning 16 during the year, please calculate your hours by your birthdate (hours earned as a 15 year old) as well as cumulative year end hours (when you have turned 16). You will be awarded the highest award based on the table above.

Volunteer hours can be from multiple volunteer service sources (any location, even international; profit or non-profit, etc) but each must be verified via signature, printed name, and their contact information for each volunteering organization. We will accept a pdf of the scanned form with the supervisor’s signature in lieu of an ink signature, if getting a physical signature presents a hardship.

Students wishing to apply for the award for the current school year must catalog their hours with the required signatures and submit them at pvsa@semagnet.org by March 30, 2024.

Awards will be presented at the end-of-year awards ceremony held at SEM. Recipients are not allowed to order their own awards, nor are they allowed to pay for them — awards must be paid for by the certifying organization. If you would like to support this program, donate to SEM PTSA here.