President Volunteer Service Award

The President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) is an award founded by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation to recognize individuals who dedicate time to positively impact their communities. Connect and Learning is an official Certifying Organization for the PVSA.

Individuals who meet the criteria are eligible for the award:

• To be eligible, the recipient(s) should either be a citizen of the United States or have been lawfully admitted as a permanent resident of the country.

•  Awards are issued for service hours served within the year from Jun. 1 to May. 31 or over a lifetime *(only for the President’s Lifetime Achievement).

• The award does not consider court-ordered community service as eligible.

• The awards are available at various levels to honor your service achievements, with recognition given for each milestone reached. These levels encompass bronze, silver, gold, and the highest distinction, the *President's Lifetime Achievement Award, which is bestowed upon individuals who contribute over 4,000 hours of service in their lifetime.

Question: Do I have to pay the application fee for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award?

Answer: You do NOT need to pay the application fee. C&L will pay the application fee for you.

Question: If my age in the past 12 months crossed two age groups, which group should I use to apply for PVSA?

Answer: You should use the age group where you have volunteered for longer over the past year. 

Question: May I use any volunteer hours outside of C&L for my PVSA application?

Answer: You may use the volunteer hours outside of C&L, and it will be combined with the volunteering hours you obtained from C&L as long as the hours in C&L are more than 50% of your total volunteering time.

Question: How frequently will C&L apply for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award?

Answer: Unlike other non-profits, which normally apply for PVSA once a year, C&L will apply for PVSA for volunteers twice a year: once in June and once in December.

Question: What should I do to ensure that I will get the Presidential Volunteer Service Award?

Answer: You only need to finish enough volunteer hours (as shown below in Required Volunteer Hours), which is enough for the PVSA application.