President-s-Volunteer-Service-Award

President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA)

Here are the Frequently Asked Questions answered in detail below :

What is the website address?

What is the program about?

The website talks about contacting my Certifying Organization. Who is my Certifying Organization?

What ages can participate?

Why should a Girl Scout participate?

How will it help a Scout in the future if she is able to achieve an award?

How does a Scout enroll?

What counts as community service?

Does the Scout really have to enter a description of every little thing she does?

What is the shortest amount of time that can be entered?

Before the Scout had a PVSA account, they did several hours of service work. Does that count?

Is the 12-month criteria based on a calendar year, a Girl Scout calendar year, or the date of their enrollment?

Who maintains the account entries - the Scout, a parent, or the Certifier?

“Suzy” Scout couldn’t do the food drive because she had a soccer game, so mom took her place, can “Suzy” Scout still enter those hours?

How long can the Scout take to reach an award level?

My Scout has met the minimum number of hours for a Bronze Award, what now?

I’m ready to certify my hours for an award, what next?

How much is an awards package? Who pays for it? Is the Scout required to order it?

I want to change my password, any problem?

I’ve already created an account without going through the Medfield Girl Scouts. Can you certify my hours?

I’ve forgotten my password, can the Certifier tell me what it is?

We ordered an awards package two months ago but it hasn’t arrived, is it lost?

If the Scout achieves an award is she recognized publicly in any way for this honor?

Are there other community service-related youth recognition programs similar to the Presidential Volunteer Service Award? How do I find out about them?

On the Program:

What is the website address? www.PresidentialServiceAwards.gov

What is the program about? Please see the page About the President’s Volunteer Service Award Program on this website to find out more about the program or go to www.PresidentialServiceAwards.gov

The website talks about contacting my Certifying Organization. Who is my Certifying Organization? Medfield Girl Scouts is your Certifying Organization. The PVSA Certifier for Medfield Girl Scouts will fall under the position of the Medfield Girl Scouts Community Service Coordinator. For 2010-11 the Community Service Coordinator is Chris Komine.

What ages can participate? Ages 5-14 are registered in a “Kids” account, ages 15-25 are “Young Adults” accounts, and an adult can have an account, though Medfield Girl Scouts is primarily concerned with certifying hours for youth of Medfield Girl Scouts. Any requests for an account other than Medfield Girl Scouts ages 5-19, which covers our youth program, will be at the discretion of the Service Unit Coordinator.

Why should a Girl Scout participate? This program is a means of tracking ALL the community service and volunteer work a Scout does in her life. For a younger or competitive Scout a motivation may be achieving one of the award levels, for another Scout volunteerism may be a passion and this program is an opportunity for recognition and bringing all the areas of her life together and seeing the common thread of volunteerism. All of which can spur on a greater desire to do more.

For an older Scout nearing a job-seeking age or building her college resume, this is an excellent way to show the collective and sustained, high-level of commitment and dedication to improving the lives of others, being a good citizen in her community and being a positive influence on peers and in the community. This national program is widely recognized and respected, and is one that GSUSA encourages its’ Scouts to participate in. For Scouts who have achieved their Girl Scouts Bronze, Silver, or Gold Award, it is an opportunity to apply those projects hours and hard work in another way. This ‘double-dipping’ is allowed by GSUSA.

How will it help a Scout in the future if she is able to achieve a PVSA award? This is a valid question because this is a tracking program that requires maintenance and is not in itself a volunteer opportunity. So what value does it have other than the award itself? There is an intrinsic value and pride to achieving high-level goals far above the average citizen who volunteers in the Scout’s community, youth or adult. Besides the personal pride, having a PVSA Record of Service makes it easier to track service hours required by many other programs and youth organizations. Such as the National Honor Society, who require a minimum number of community service hours to be a member in good standing.

When a Scout reaches an age when they begin to seek a job or build their college resume, being a President’s Volunteer Service Award recipient is an excellent entry and would be a highlight to any individual’s record. PVSA is a nationally recognized and respected program and gives potential employers or colleges a simple and concrete way to grasp the young adult’s involvement, commitment and maturity. A college resume includes sections for “Awards Received” and “Community Service” to which a Scout who has received this award can add the level of award(s) achieved, along with the number of hours volunteered, along with other awards such as the Girl Scouts Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards.

Enrollment/Account Maintenance/Hours Certification:

How does a Scout enroll? Contact the PVSA Certifier for Medfield Girl Scouts by email with the following information:

Date of Birth

Name as preferred for a certificate

Address

Phone number

Email address for parent and Older Scout

The Certifier will set up an account and email back a password.

What counts as community service? All legitimate community service and volunteering done through Scouting, church, school, school-supported clubs, service-oriented clubs and other non-profit organizations. Volunteering is defined as giving freely (unpaid) of one’s personal time and skills to help others.

Other examples allowed, are if the Scout was on a fundraiser committee, attended committee meetings, made flyers, etc., that time can be entered; or the Scout might be at a volunteer event in Boston - travel time to and from the event would also be included as it was a part of a total number of hours that the Scout volunteered their time. Another example would be, during a local 30 hr famine event part of the time is spent sleeping overnight as a group. The scout can count the entire 30 hours because they are participating onsite and fasting with the group as a part of the event. Also, Girl Scouts may call something a leadership opportunity, but the Scout who does the leading is volunteering their time and would count this. If you have any specific questions on community service, volunteering or related work for an event or program, please ask the PVSA Certifier for Medfield Girl Scouts.

Also, it needs to be said that not everything a person does should be considered volunteering. While shoveling an elderly neighbor’s driveway is encouraged, it would be pushing the definition of volunteering under the context and spirit of this program. The Scout wouldn’t count hours spent on a Destination Imagination team (an interest/hobby), but if she participated in a fundraiser for DI (which is a school-supported, non-profit youth organization) then she would count that time. It’s a little confusing- just ask.

Does the Scout really have to enter a description of every little thing she does? Yes, to a degree. All entries are REQUIRED to include a brief description of what was done and whom it was done for sufficient enough for the Certifier to see it is a legitimate entry. If there is any confusion as to how that entry correlates to a larger volunteer project, the Scout will be asked for further explanation and required to edit her entries, thereby holding up the award ordering process. The problem can be avoided for both parties if descriptions for entries are just that – brief but sufficiently descriptive of what work has been done.

(Please remember it is the responsibility of the Certifier to be confident that all entries are valid and with merit as community service and, thereby, certify that the volunteer deserves the honor of the President’s Volunteer Service Award.)

What is the shortest amount of time that can be entered? .5 or ½ hr. Please DO NOT enter anything less than .5 or ½ hr of time. Enter two and a half hours of service work as 2.5 hours. Group several 10 min jobs into a .5 entry, but describe each and what it was done for.

Before the Scout had a PVSA account, they did several hours of service work. Does that count? Yes! The PVSA computer program will accept at least one year prior to enrollment date so, yes, one can enter old service hours. Just remember, though, to achieve one of the award levels the Scout must meet the award criteria hours within a 12-month period of time to receive an award. Otherwise, the hours will always count towards a lifetime award.

Is the 12-month criteria based on a calendar year, a Girl Scout calendar year, or the date of their enrollment? Actually, it’s not based on any of the above. The 12-month time period is based on their initial entry of service hours. So if they enrolled on 10/1/10, but had a first service entry on 11/1/10, then 11/1/10-10/31/11 would be their official 12 -month period of time to meet an awards level.

Who maintains the account entries - the Scout, a parent, or the Certifier? The Certifier does not make entries on a Scout’s Record of Service. The younger the age of the Scout, the more likely the parent would have to keep the account active. Older scouts are encouraged to keep their accounts updated themselves, however, each child/parent relationship is different. However, many a young person does not have the foresight, stamina or time to follow through with something that may be beneficial to them in the future. With that being said, since we are talking about a rote task of data entry, if the Scout and parent are in agreement, the parent is allowed to maintain the account. There is no harm, no foul for whatever arrangement the Scout and parent have in order to keep the account up-to-date.

“Suzy” Scout couldn’t do the food drive because she had a soccer game, so mom took her place, can “Suzy” Scout still enter those hours? NO! Under no circumstances can a parent, friend, sibling or family pet do the actual volunteering and still be entered under the Scout’s Record of Service. If a family wants to have a joint account, the PVSA program does offer this type of account, however, Medfield Girl Scouts is only currently supporting and certifying individual Girl Scouts. If anyone other than the Scout “stands in,” those hours may not be recorded on the Scout’s Record of Service.

How long can the Scout take to reach an award level? A Scout has to achieve the minimum hours criteria within 12 months. Generally, the first entry becomes the start date. There is some flexibility with start/end dates flexed to meet the hours criteria, if necessary, which is at the discretion of the Certifier.

My Scout has met the minimum number of hours for a Bronze Award in only 9 months, what now? In the past, there have been some misunderstandings on this point, so please read this carefully. The Scout needs to decide whether she wants to certify those hours and receive a Bronze Award, OR not certify the hours and keep going for a Silver or Gold. If a higher award is possible within the 12 month window, she should wait to see if she can attain it before ‘turning in’ her hours. Once hours are certified they are essentially ‘turned in’ and will not count towards a higher award within the current 12-month period. The decision is final with PVSA once the hours are certified, so please be sure you are ready to accept the Bronze or Silver levels before requesting certification.

I’m ready to certify my hours for an award, what next? Email the PVSA Certifier for Medfield Girl Scouts when you are ready to certify your hours for a bronze, silver or gold award. The Certifier will review the Record of Service and has the right to ask questions if vague descriptions or questionable entries have been made. (Please remember it is the responsibility of the Certifier to be confident that all entries are valid and with merit as community service and, thereby, certify that the volunteer deserves the honor of the President’s Volunteer Service Award.) Once all is in order, the hours will be officially certified, a request for payment for the award package will be made of $10, (payable to the Certifier’s name by check) and the order will be placed.

How much is an awards package? Who pays for it? Is the Scout required to order it? The total cost of a complete award package with shipping/handling is $10. The cost of the package is the responsibility of the Scout or her family. Please make your check payable to your current Certifier, and send/deliver in a timely manner once requested. It is not required that the Scout order a package, but is strongly encouraged to do so as it is an integral celebratory part of the program. If the cost is a hardship for the Scout or her family, please contact the Certifier to discuss alternative arrangements, which can be offered.

I want to change my password, any problem? Please DO NOT CHANGE THE PASSWORD you are given. You will be changing the password for ALL Medfield Girl Scouts’ Records of Service. It would be a big problem.

I’ve already created an account without going through the Medfield Girl Scouts. Can you certify my hours? No not without great difficulty, the Certifier cannot easily access your account unless you are linked with Medfield Girl Scouts. Contact your Certifier to work through getting a new account that would be linked to Girl Scouts.

I’ve forgotten my password, can the Certifier tell me what it is? No, the Certifier can’t access anyone that has an individual password other than the one for Medfield Girl Scouts. This seems to come up periodically with the older Scouts who prefer to have a more personal password and then later forget what it is. Really, the Certifier cannot tell you what password you used.

Miscellaneous:

We ordered an awards package two months ago but it hasn’t arrived, is it lost? No, the Certifier receives and holds all awards packages until the annual Girl Scouts Bridging and Awards Ceremony in the spring. The PVSA recipients are acknowledged during this ceremony. The Scout’s award package will be available to pick up from the Certifier following the ceremony or at another pre-arranged time.

If the Scout achieves an award is she recognized publicly in any way for this honor? Yes, in several ways. An article is submitted annually to all local newspapers regarding the recipients of the President’s Volunteer Service Award for that Girl Scout calendar year. The recipients will also be honored during the Medfield Girl Scouts Bridging and Awards Ceremony where many state and local dignitaries are in attendance as well as the Medfield Girl Scouts and their families.

Are there other community service-related youth recognition programs similar to the Presidential Volunteer Service Award? How do I find out about them? Yes, there are many other youth recognition programs that reward outstanding commitment to community service and volunteerism. Please see the “Special Awards Related to Youth Volunteerism” list available on this website for other programs available nationally.