How many hours do I need to complete? Updated Community Service Hours required for high school graduation are as follows: • Class of 2025 – 30 hours • Class of 2026 – 30 hours
If you are planning on attending a UC or Private University, it is encouraged that you have meaningful and consistent community service.
Where do I turn-in my hours?
All Community Service Forms are to be completed and turned in to your current History/Social Science Teacher.
Students should not start any community service activity prior to receiving written approval from their Social Science teacher in order to ensure credit. Parents are also required to sign their student’s community service forms before the activity is started as permission to participate in the activity AND after their student has completed the community service as verification and validation that the activity was completed. Failure to receive the required signature prior to the start of the activity may cause the hours to be denied.
Examples of what IS community service
Volunteering with a non-profit community service organization
Community service club activities (not meetings)
Community service through Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts
Community service through a religious institution
Political campaign activities
Assisting with City Park & Recreation programs
Assisting at Boys or Girls Clubs
Helping at a hospital, convalescent home, or orphanage
School-sponsored peer tutoring after school hours or on weekends
Helping with sports events of younger children, refereeing, etc.
Volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, locally or abroad.
Unpaid poll worker on Election Day (must be organized through school)
Giving blood (2 hours of community service allowed and OK to be done during school hours if it is a school sponsored blood drive)
Donating hair to an organization that makes wigs for cancer victims (2 hours of community service allowed)
Examples of what is NOT community service
Sales of items for fund-raisers.
Work often done by student aides, such as office, teacher, or library aides
Service performed for a profit-making organization
Work during regular school hours
What would usually be considered normal extracurricular (or co-curricular) activities, such as sports and sports related activities (managers), cheerleading, participating in school performance activities that are related to a class, ASB activities, etc.
Working for an individual teacher (or teachers) such as grading papers
Service where the recipient is a family member or where a family member supervises the service
Related to a class, credit for a class, or the making of profit, defraying costs of trips, etc.
Receiving pay for the service
Credit for the number of cans collected for a food drive, toys given, money collected, etc.