The Varsity Letter in Community Service is only awarded once during your high school career. You are welcome to apply at any time once you have met the hours requirement; you do not have to wait until your senior year.

If you have already earned your school's varsity letter, you will receive a community service star patch in the same style as a varsity letter.

You are required to have at least one hour of school-related volunteering. Some examples would be:

• Participating in a community service project through a school club (NHS, Key Club, DECA, etc.)
• Volunteering for PTA organized events within the school or school district
• Tutoring peers or younger students through a school or club tutoring program
• Helping with an after-school club at an elementary school (chess club, school play, etc.)
• Mentoring in a NTPS school through Big Brothers, Big Sisters or another organization

Faith-related volunteer hours serving the community at large will count toward Varsity Letter requirements. This means that the work performed must serve more than just the faith-based organization. Some examples would be:

• Volunteering with a food bank, clothing bank, or meal service operated by a faith-based organization
• Volunteering with members of the faith-based organization for an outside non-profit (501c3) community-based organization (ex. running a church group food drive for a local food bank)
• Volunteering on a mission trip that is not solely based on evangelizing (ex. building homes, making repairs or clearing debris after a disaster, digging wells, etc.)

Service hours that benefit only the faith-based organization will not count toward Varsity Letter requirements. Some examples would be:

• Volunteering in a church choir or band
• Volunteering to usher for church services or events
• Volunteering in the church nursery during services or classes
• Volunteering to doorbell or operate a booth to evangelize or pass out faith-based information
• Volunteering for Vacation Bible School or similar faith-sponsored day camps

Volunteer service on a mission trip serving the community at large will count toward Varsity Letter requirements (ex. repairing homes, clearing debris, or organizing meals after a disaster). Hours spent evangelizing or serving the faith-based organization itself on the trip will not count toward Varsity Letter requirements (ex. door to door evangelizing, religious classes or camps for children or adults). While both activities may take place during the trip, you may only count the hours serving the greater community without religious teaching.

You may count 8 hours per day for volunteering as a camp counselor. If you have documentation proving that you served more hours per day, you may submit it with your application and will be credited accordingly after successful verification with your provided contact.

Volunteer service as a camp counselor will count toward Varsity Letter requirements if the camp is associated with a non-profit organization and serves more than a particular faith-based organization.

You may count 8 hours per day for volunteering as a camp counselor. If you have documentation proving that you served more hours per day, you may submit it with your application and will be credited accordingly after successful verification with your provided contact.

Club meeting or activity time that is spent organizing and implementing a single or ongoing service project that benefits more than just your school or student body will count toward Varsity Letter requirements. Some examples would be:

• Volunteering with your school club to organize a school food drive to donate to a local food bank
• Performing with your school club or performing arts group for a senior center, nursing home, daycare, etc. outside of school hours and not for school credit
• Volunteering at a middle or elementary school to tutor student or help at special events

Club meeting or activity time to discuss other club business, or that only benefits your club, school, or student body will not count toward Varsity Letter requirements. Some examples would be:

• Making posters for a school activity
• Holding a fundraiser to benefit a school club/team (ex. a car wash to buy team uniforms)
• Performing with your school performing arts group at your school
• Hosting international exchange students

Since you are a member of the organization, volunteer hours can only be counted when you are doing service for other people or an outside community group/non-profit. On your application, it is helpful to include a brief explanation of how your particular activities benefit the community outside of just your organization members.

If your organization is hosting an event that benefits an outside agency, then volunteer hours served for that event will count toward Varsity Letter requirements (ex. collecting donations for a clothes closet or food bank, hosting a benefit concert for another non-profit, and teaching or mentoring activities). Hours served that only benefit the organization of which you are a member will not count toward the Varsity Letter requirements (ex. running a Scouts meeting, participating in a group ceremony).

If your school offers a Varsity Letter in Sports Management for volunteering for a varsity level team, then your hours served as a sports team manager will not count. However, if your volunteer time is served at another school with younger students, your hours will count (ex. you are a high school student helping to coach/manage a 5th grade track team).

Any babysitting, yard work, or house work performed with a non-profit will count toward Varsity Letter requirements. In cases where you as assisting an individual on your own, the individual must not be related to you and must have a documented need by meeting one of the following criteria:

• Receive Medicaid benefits (low-income senior citizen)
• Receive SSDI (individual with a disability)

We will need to contact the recipient and verify that they meet the above criteria.

Hours served fostering animals through a non-profit animal agency will count toward Varsity Letter requirements, up to 2 hours per day. The animal agency must be a non-profit (501c3) organization, and you must have documentation showing approved foster parent status with that organization.

You may not have your parent as the verification contact for your volunteer hours. You will need to establish a contact at the service organization who can verify your volunteer service. Even in cases where you parent works for the service organization, it is highly preferred to have someone unrelated to you as the verification contact for your service hours.

Any community service or volunteer hours performed as a requirement for a class will not count toward Varsity Letter requirements.

Hours spent job-shadowing will not count for this award, even if it is with a non-profit or school organization.