VSF

• What is the Family Group Award?

  • Award give in the name of the group, e.g. VSF Pandemic Volunteering” or “VSF Family Name”

  • Each member must contribute a minimum of 25 house fo their hours to count towards the group total.

  • Each member must meet individual eligibility requirements

  • An individual’s hours may count towards both the individual and group awards, e.g, a teen completing 50 hours may receive a bronze award in addition to the silver group award as a member of a class that volunteered 500 hours collectively over 12 months.

 

• What if I had a birthday which increased my volunteer hourly category?

  • Age category is determined by the age a volunteer is for at least 7 months out of a designated 12-month award period.

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• Do all service hours need to be from the same Organization?

  • No, For example, a child completing 50 hours for Certifying Organization A and 50 hours for Certifying Organization B would qualify for the following awards:

    • A silver award from Certifying Organization A, but no awards from Certifying Organization B

    • A silver award from Certifying Organization B, but no awards from Certifying Organization A

    • A gold award representing the total 100 hours performed for both organizations presented by Organization A, where Organization B has provided Organization A with a letter summarizing the child’s volunteer record

    • Where Organization A has provided Organization B with a record of the volunteer’s service, Organization B may choose to order awards at all levels reached (gold, silver, and bronze)

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• What can I expect to get as part of the award?

  • The official President’s Volunteer Service Award medallion

  • A personalized certificate of achievement and letter signed by the current President Joe Biden

  • The award elements above together as a Complete Package

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• What about Lifetime achievement awards?

  • Enlarged, personalized certificate

  • Congratulatory letter from the President

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• When will the President congratulatory letter be available?

  • We anticipate the President’s congratulatory letter being available typically by February of the following year, unless of course there is a change in the Presidency, at which point it will be available in the summer or earlier.

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• You are announcing this award now, will my volunteer hours from the beginning of the year count?

  • Yes, your hours from the beginning of the year will be taken into account. Awards are issued for service hours served within a 12-month time period or over the course of a lifetime. For example, we will be tracking from January 1st, - December 31st in a given year.

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• How are the hours being tracked?

  • For each event we participate we will collect your Name, email, age group, total hours, award year. 

  • Please see attached sheets (individual and group)  for you to submit. You can use this to track on your own as well.

    • Individual Sample form

    • Group Sample form

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• Can a volunteer track their hours?

  • We will make a read only option which is in the works that will allow you to view your hours accumulated so far.

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• What else is expected of me as a volunteer?

  • We would love to hear how, why and what you are volunteering for? We will submit a select few to be published nationally.​

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• What if my organization is a United States organization but volunteers complete all of their hours outside of the United States?

  • You can still receive the PVSA if you  are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent resident.  

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• Will VSF take volunteer hours from non-vsf folks?

  • No, we will restrict it to only VSF-associated members.

 

• What activities within VSF will count for volunteer hours?

  • Volunteering to assist in organizing outreach or activities that benefit the community will be considered for PVSA. For example, Youth related, outreach, assisting with websites, media, etc.

  • Activities that pertain to social gatherings or parties will not be considered.

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• What if you volunteer for a Profit company but benefit the community?

  • If the activity benefits the community, it will be considered.

  • Volunteer hours from all types of organizations can count towards the PVSA as long as the hours are unpaid and can not appear on our list of ineligible services, here: https://presidentialserviceawards.gov/eligibility. 

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• Does volunteering at a for-profit ski center but working with blind kids (who are allowed for free) count for hours?

  • If the volunteer's hours working with blind kids are unpaid, you may accept and certify the hours towards the PVSA. 

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• Who do we contact if we have more questions?

  • Please contact the Community outreach leads. 

    • outreach@vsfbayarea.org​