Presidential Volunteer Service Award
The Presidential Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities across the United States. Youth Volunteer Corps Headquarters (YVCHQ) is a certifying organization that can administer the PVSA to youth volunteers across the YVC network who meet the requirements for the award. Visit the Presidential Volunteer Service Award’s website to learn more, and read below to discover how affiliates can give this award to their eligible youth volunteers. YVCHQ will be accepting applications for the PVSA in September 2023, and we will order award packages in December 2023.
Eligibility
Youth volunteers must meet the following requirements to be eligible for the PVSA:
- U.S. Citizen or lawful permanent resident of the U.S.
- Must meet the hours in the table below within a single program year (September 1-August 31) to earn awards in each age group.
- Service hours cannot be for court-ordered community service.
- Service hours submitted for this award can only be service hours achieved through Youth Volunteer Corps that are verified in Ydat.
- The age of the youth on August 31 (the final day of the program year) determines which age group they are in. (i.e. If Sam turns 16 on August 25, he falls under the 16-18 age group for that program year.)
| Age Group | Bronze | Silver | Gold |
| 11-15 | 50-74 hours | 75-99 hours | 100+ hours |
| 16-18 | 100-174 hours | 175-249 hours | 250+ hours |
i.e. If Sally Smith is 12 years old and completed 90 service hours from September 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021, she is eligible for a silver award.
Award Packages
There are several different award packages an affiliate can choose to give to youth volunteers receiving the PVSA. In the application form, you will be able to choose among the following award packages:
How to Apply
- Find out which of your youth volunteers are eligible for the PVSA by going to Ydat, clicking on “Reports”, choosing the report type as “Youth- all youth volunteers”, and running the report from September 1 to August 31 of the most recently completed program year. Sort the youth volunteers by hours to see which ones reached the required hours for the award (see the table under the Eligibility section of this page). Take note of their age and which award category their number of service hours falls under.
- Click the “Apply” button. In the application, you will be asked for each youth volunteer’s name, email address, age, total service hours during the most recently completed program year, and their award level (bronze, silver, or gold).
- You will be asked which award packages you would like to purchase. Awards are displayed in the photo above, and packages include a certificate only (signed by the President of the U.S.), a certificate and a pin, a certificate and a coin, or a certificate and a medallion. You can purchase different award packages for each award category (bronze, silver, and gold), but you will need to specify that in the application form.
- At the bottom of the form, you will see the total cost of the award packages you are ordering. After submitting your form, YVCHQ will send you an invoice with the total amount of the awards. YVCHQ will not place the order for the Presidential Volunteer Service Awards until you have completed payment via check or PayPal (+3% service fee if paying via PayPal).
Ready to Apply?
Apply NowQuestions about the Presidential Volunteer Service Award?
Contact Danette Seffens for more information.