PVSA stands for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. This honor was created in 2003 to reward citizens of the US for time they spend volunteering, making a positive impact in their communities, and inspiring others to do the same. The award itself comes in the form of either a pin, coin, or medallion, accompanied by a certificate signed by the president. The medals come in three colors representing the amount of hours spent in service to others. The colors are bronze, silver, and gold. The hours required to earn the certificate vary according to the age of the recipient. There are four age categories starting with 5-10 year olds.
The only requirements you have to meet to be part of this program are; (1) you have to be a US citizen (2) You must be at least 5 years old (3) you must collect the hours required for the award within 12 months (4) and you must be part of a certifying organization.
The certifying organization I use for this award is Placer County 4-H. Placer County 4-H has had a PVSA project for the past 4 years. It isn't like any of the other 4-h projects that I have done, because it allows you to decide for yourself what you will do. The project leader tells us about volunteer opportunities, helps us get our hours certified and signs the 4-h project report. The 4-h office orders the certificates and pins for us to display on our hats. That is how we get recognition for serving our communities, in any way, from picking up trash to hosting events! I have greatly enjoyed this project because it encourages us 4-H youth to get involved in service to make a difference in the world.
Some of my favorite things that I have done in this 4-H project have been helping at Feed My Starving Children mobile pack, laying wreaths at Wreaths Across America, ringing bells for Salvation Army, making quilts for Auburn Grace Church's missions, sorting legos for Brick Dreams, being a teacher's assistant at an AWANA program, and sharing my animals at fair and other similar events. This year I can count the many hours I spent organizing the Placer County 4-H summer garden camp.
Many of the other youth in our county have also participated in these activities and many similar ones including, collecting food for Meals On Wheels, visiting convalescent hospitals, making vases for Petal Connection, volunteering at animal shelters, and making pillows for heart patients.Many of the senior 4-H members have counted hours spent on their emerald star projects towards the award. This is one of the 4-h projects that truly gives back to our community. None of us have regretted the time we spent volunteering!!! If you want to get involved in this project, sign up next year and see what kind of opportunities you can find to change the world for the better.