Community service hours are required for college bound students at WHCS and those students seeking Bright Futures Scholarships. I often receive many questions from parents and students about community service hours and have posted these below:
How many community service hours are required?
100 community service hours are required for WHCS college bound graduates.
When may I begin accumulating community service hours?
You may begin working on your community service hours as soon as your freshman year of high school. In fact, the earlier you start, the better! Waiting until your senior year to begin accumulating hours is unwise. Hours accumulated during middle school will not be counted toward the high school requirement, however.
Where may I perform community service?
Many of our students successfully complete community service hours through their local church. Volunteering in the nursery or working the sound booth are some examples of how you can earn community service hours through your church. Speak with your youth pastor or pastor about other ways you can volunteer, too. Hernando County's local humane society is another organization that needs volunteers. Nursing homes and hospices also may welcome volunteers. If you need help deciding where to volunteer, please stop by the office and I will be happy to give you some suggestions.
What do I do once I've earned hours?
When you have finished volunteering with an organization, please have them write a letter on the organization's letterhead stating what you did and how many hours you earned. If a parent works for the organization, please have someone other than your parent document your hours. Bright Futures may reject parent-documented hours.
How do I keep track of the hours I volunteer?
Tracking your hours is your responsibility. It's a good idea to keep a log or a calendar documenting when, where, and how much time you put in. This way the organization will be able to easily verify your hours when they write the above mentioned letter.
