President’s Volunteer
Service Award

  • The PVSA is a National Award program that honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities and inspires those around them to take action.

    Led by the AmeriCorps and managed in partnership with Points of Light, this program allows Certifying Organizations to recognize their most exceptional volunteers. YCS is a Certifying Organization for the PVSA. 

    Group awards can be earned by families, companies, or other affiliated groups. The group must consist of two or more volunteer members.

  • Most generally, service means helping others. For more detail on some of the gray areas of what counts as service, check out the Community Service Guidelines we follow, which were created by Palo Alto High School and also adapted for Gunn High School. 

    For individuals, the award level earned is based on your age while completing your service hours.

    For groups, each member of the group must contribute a minimum of 25 hours towards the total number of hours. The award level earned is based on the age of the oldest volunteer in the group.

  • We can process applications for anyone living in or attending school in Santa Clara or San Mateo County. Fill out the PVSA Application Form. We will review your application and contact you. If you are a Gunn High School student, please email us first at: service.award@youthcommunityservice.org. We might be able to use service hours you have already submitted through the Transcript Recognition form to approve your service hours.

    If you are applying for a group, please contact us first at:  service.award@youthcommunityservice.org and we will assist you with your application.

  • Please help us continue to offer the certification of the PVSA by making a donation to cover shipping costs and processing fees from Points of Light. A donation of $20 for each award helps us to be able to continue to offer this service to the community. You can make a donation by clicking here.

  • What is the deadline to apply for the PVSA? 
    We accept applications year round!   Please allow two months for processing. Here are the notification dates:

    Apply by Jun 15 for notification by Aug 15
    Apply by Aug 15 for notification by Oct 15
    Apply by Oct 15 for notification by Dec 15
    Apply by Dec 15 for notification by Feb 15
    Apply by Feb 15 for notification by Apr 15
    Apply by Apr 15 for notification by Jun 15
     We prioritize PVSA applications for Graduating Seniors in
    Aug-Oct. Others might be delayed by 3-4 weeks during
    this time.

    Can anyone apply for a PVSA?
    We can process a PVSA application for anyone living in or attending school in Santa Clara or San Mateo County. If you are outside of our geographic area, you must find a certifying organization in your local area.

    How is the one-year time frame calculated?
    It starts on the date you specify, for example Jun 1, 2022, which would end the year on May 31, 2023.

    My birthday occurs during the service time, how does this affect my award?
    Your award level is based on your age for 7 months of the 12-month time frame. 

    How can I contact you?
    Email is best: 
    service.award@youthcommunityservice.org 
    Leave a message at:  (650) 858-8021

Apply for the

President’s Volunteer Service Award