President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) Information

We are happy to announce that the Global Volunteer Recognition Program LLC is a Certifying Organization for the President’s Volunteer Service Award!!

To be eligible, members must be an active member of the Global Volunteer Recognition Program LLC. Additionally, the award year must align with the corresponding year of membership. For instance, to certify volunteer hours in 2023, a 2023 membership is mandatory; likewise, to certify hours for 2024, a 2024 membership is necessary, and so forth. However, it's worth noting that the Lifetime Achievement Award can be earned in any year of membership.

Deadline

Please submit your hours by January 31st. Missing the deadline may result in a mid-year order if there is sufficient participation. Hours can be certified up to two years back; for example, hours from 2023 can be certified until 2025. 

After the hours have been certified we will place a group order for all award packages. Based on previous orders we anticipate that we should have the award packages shipped out 1 to 2 months after certification. There can sometimes be long delays based on supply and demand through Points of Light. 

Volunteer Eligibility

• United States citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e., green card holder)
• Must be at least five years old
• Completes eligible service within a 12-month period (for annual Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards) and over a lifetime (for Lifetime Achievement Awards)
• Hours are measured from January 1st to December 31st. The award year must align with the corresponding year of your membership. For certification of volunteer hours in 2023, a 2023 membership is necessary; likewise, certification for 2024 hours requires a 2024 membership, and so forth.
• Please use this template to track your volunteer hours. 
• To create an editable copy of a Google Sheet
• Open the Google Sheets file that you want to copy
• Click "File" on the top toolbar menu
• Click "Make a copy"
• Choose a name for the copied document
• Click "OK".
• Please fill out this form to submit your application for the President's Volunteer Service Award after hours have been completed. You will receive an email after your hours have been verified with details about the President’s Volunteer Service Award. 

Eligible Service:

• Unpaid acts of volunteer service benefitting others
  • Service through National service programs that provide a stipend (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) may count towards the Lifetime Achievement Award, but not for the annual Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards)
  • Travel stipends, transit/parking passes, membership passes, expense reimbursements, and other nominal volunteer support do not impact service eligibility

Eligible Service does not include:

• Donating funds
• Political lobbying (Non-partisan voter registration is an eligible activity)
• Religious instruction
• Conducting worship service
• Proselytizing
• Volunteer service performed as part of court-ordered community service
• Serving only family members

Can Global Volunteer Recognition Program certify hours from any organization?

Yes. We can certify hours from any United States based organization. 

How are hours certified? 

We have a board that reviews the hours to make sure that the hours submitted follow the guidelines set by Points of Light. 

I had a birthday this year? How do I determine my award Age Group?

The age category is determined by the age the person was for at least 7 months within the 12-month calendar year.  For example, if the person was 16 for 7 months within the year in question, that person would qualify within the 16-25 age group. 

 

Hours Required to Earn Awards in Each Age Group

Age Group	Bronze	Silver	Gold	Lifetime Achievement Award
Kids (5–10 years old)	26–49 hours	50–74 hours	75+ hours	4,000+ hours
Teens (11–15)	50–74 hours	75–99 hours	100+ hours	4,000+ hours
Young Adults (16–25)	100–174 hours	175–249 hours	250+ hours	4,000+ hours
Adults (26+)	100–249 hours	250–499 hours	500+ hours	4,000+ hours