Hemet Academy for Applied Academics and Technology

Yes! Community service is a requirement for graduation at HAAAT Charter School! We strongly believe in community service at HAAAT. Giving back to and improving the community which provided us the opportunity for excellence in education is the cornerstone of our community service program. Students are encouraged to surpass the minimum hours required, as the student may qualify for scholarship opportunities and/or use their community service experiences on college admission applications if they go well beyond the minimum requirements.

Service performed for a non-profit (503b certified) organization to benefit at least on other unrelated person and for which neither compensation nor academic credit is received.

In general, service performed to fulfill a court order, or for profit-making organizations is NOT applicable, with the exception of hospitals and nursing homes. Service performed for individuals should be performed under the umbrella of an organization (e.g., tutoring a student through a school or program, helping the elderly through the Council on Aging, etc.) Students must complete at least 5 hours of community service per year at two separate organizations between grades nine and twelve (total of 20 hours). Service may be performed at any time during the students’ high school careers, from the summer before freshman year until the end of April of the senior year. Under no circumstances may service be performed during the school day when students have assigned classes. We encourage students to look for long-term commitments where they can really make a difference.

Students must submit a request for Community Service Project Approval form to the HAAAT Office PRIOR TO BEGINNING SERVICE if:

1. the organization or project is not on the pre-approved list;

2. service is planned for an extended period of time, i.e., a week, or

3. service is to be performed out Riverside County. Requests submitted after the service has been performed will not be approved.

Students are responsible for securing a Community Service placement. This experience will be similar to that of finding a job, a situation the student will face throughout life. An approved list of organizations is posted in the HAAAT Office and on the web site. Students may also ask friends and relatives about community service opportunities and search the Internet to find a suitable, local, non-profit organization for which to volunteer. Pre-approval for community service organizations must be requested in writing prior to service. Other volunteer opportunities will be posted at HAAAT Charter School, as well as, in the school bulletin as needs in the community arise and are brought to our attention. We recommend a minimum of three different community service activities over the four years of high school, but two different organizations are required.

In order to receive community service credit, the HAAAT Charter School Community Service Log must be completed & verified (signed by the supervisor) and a short write up on each experience MUST be date stamped and turned into the HAAAT Office. It is each student’s responsibility to ensure that verification forms are turned in for each service activity. SIMPLY PERFORMING SERVICE DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY PROVIDE CREDIT!!

PLEASE NOTE: Community service hours for the previous year must be submitted no later than the last Friday in September. If you do not submit your hours by the deadline, they may not count.

Your community service activity must meet the following guidelines:

1. It must be something that benefits others.

2. It must be something that you are not required to do by anyone else.

3. It must be something for which you are not paid or otherwise given credit.

4. The organization or individual may not personally profit monetarily from your services; non-profit only.

5. The community service for the non-profit organization must be done in Riverside County

The students must write and submit a short typewritten paper (1/2 – 1 page) for each organization where service was performed during each school year. The paper should briefly relate his/her Community Service experience. To be acceptable, the paper must include the following:

* What the student learned about the community by doing the Community Service.

* How the student’s participation improved the organization and/or local community.

* Identification of the values and ethics of the organization for which they worked.

* Explanation of how the experience related to or changed the student’s present career goals.

The completed form, service log and paper should be turned into the HAAAT Charter School office as soon as possible after performing the community service. The hours will be logged when turned in during the year and students will be notified in September of their senior year if they are behind in Community Service hours. Please note: it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the required service hours are performed, documented, and submitted.

Students may be interested in applying for the President’s Volunteer Service Award; for information on this, go to their web site. Also visit the Congressional Award for community service web site for more information. In addition to fulfilling graduation requirements, community service is valuable when applying to many colleges and universities.