Eligibility Requirements
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)
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
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 |
Family & Group Award | 200-499 hours | 500-999 hours | 1000+ hours | N/A |
Family/Group Awards
- Award given in the name of the group, e.g., “St. Andrew Kim Korean Catholic Church” or “The Andrew Kim Family”
- Each Member much contribute a minimum of 25 hours for their hours to count towards the group total
- Each member must meet individual eligibility requirements, i.e., must be at least 5 years old and U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident
- An individual’s hours may count towards both the individual award and group award, e.g., a teen completing 50 hours may receive a bronze award in addition to the silver group award as a member of a class that volunteered 500 hours collectively over 12 months.