We've made sure that many types of volunteering are included in our SVA Service Award. But what exactly is included?
It is reasonably easy to think of 'definitely volunteering' examples:
- Coaching your little sister's sports team at their school for no money
- Helping out at a food bank packing grocery boxes
- Being the student organiser of a school-wide event such as the 40 hour Famine or the School Ball
- Being an unpaid caregiver of whanau member such as a grandparent or parent with mental health needs
Some examples of 'definitely not volunteering' would be:
- Attending sports practice
- Playing an instrument in the school orchestra
- Attending a hobby based club where you get personal enjoyment such as a dog breeding club.
But there are lots of grey areas too that we leave to the school to decide …
- Participating as the leader of a school peer support group where that is a school requirement for all senior students
- Coaching a Year 10 rugby team as part of your NCEA Level 2 PE requirements
- Participating in the 40 Hour Famine by giving up your phone for 40 hours
If you're unsure, think about how your volunteering relates to this definition:
"volunteering is time given to help others with no expectation of reward."
Would going to year 9 camp at school to be the photographer count? It is optional (and I'm not getting paid for it, duh) but at the same time, I get to be out of class for 3 days and get food and accommodation etc.
Would being a school prefect/being president of student council count? It is optional but is also a leadership role that I got chosen for at school, and I benefit in some way, eg getting to go to leadership conferences etc.
Hi Nina,
Great questions! Both of your examples definitely fall under the 'grey area' category mentioned above. Some schools count prefect and president roles as volunteering and some do not. I would encourage you to have a conversation with your teacher and make a decision from there.
Would helping a neighbour with her business on a volunteer basis count? She had cancer and runs a small business.
Kia ora Shuari!
Thanks for your message. For specific questions about what counts as volunteering, we would direct you to discuss this with the SVA Service Award Key Contact at your school. These details can be found on your Service Dashboard on the left hand side. Hope this helps! 🙂
Thanks,
Brooke
Would busking count?
Kia ora Josiah!
For questions such as what counts as volunteering, we would direct you to raise the question with the SVA Service Award Key Contact at your school. You can find these details on the left hand side of your Service Dashboard.
Hope this helps!
Warm regards,
Brooke and the SVA Service Award team
Would running and organising the schools talent quest count?
I’m also curious as what counts for hours?
Is it based on how long the whole thing took to work on, or just how long the talent quest went on for?
Kia ora Matilda!
For questions such as what counts as volunteering, we would direct you to raise the question with the SVA Service Award Key Contact at your school. You can find these details on the left hand side of your Service Dashboard. Hours logged are based on how long you personally volunteered for.
Hope this helps!
Warm regards,
Brooke and the SVA Service Award team
Hi,
I'm in year 10 and I'm a migrant.I did lots of volunteering back then when I was in my country.I helped my mates for their exams,I gave advises to the people who are in some kind of trouble(my mates even jokes about me having a superior attitude,anyways).I also helped babysit my aunt's children when they were kids.I also was a girl guide and we did lots of clean ups,tree planting and stuff
.But,can I put all those in to my service record?
Thanks.
Kia ora Maleesha!
For questions such as what counts as volunteering, we would direct you to raise the question with the SVA Service Award Key Contact at your school. You can find these details on the left hand side of your Service Dashboard.
Hope this helps!
Warm regards,
Brooke and the SVA Service Award team
Does preparing a treat for the school soup kitchen count???
Kia ora Maleesha,
Thank you for your question!
Many areas of what counts as volunteering at school can have a tendency to fall into a grey area.
We invite you to reflect on how we have based the definition of what volunteering means from an SVA Service Award perspective:
"Volunteering is time given to help others with no expectation of reward."
If you require further clarification, our recommendation would be to seek the consultation your teacher, team leader or host of the event to confirm 🙂
Best regards,
Your friends at the SVA Service Award team
Can volunteer projects completed online count?
Kia ora Maggie,
Thank you for your question!
Would you be able to tell us a little more about your online volunteering project?
As a starting point, the sentence below is how we have defined what volunteering means from an SVA Service Award perspective:
"Volunteering is time given to help others with no expectation of reward."
Looking forward to your reply, Maggie 🙂
Best regards,
Your friends at the SVA Service Award team
I have done online projects to transcribe notes for the Smithsonian museum. I have also served on anonymous online peer support platforms. Would the hours I've done for these programs count?
Kia ora Maggie!
Apologies in the advance for the delayed response - I hope you had a wonderful holiday!
Those projects sound like great initiatives and definitely count towards your volunteering hours 🙂
Best regards,
Your friends at the SVA Service Award
Hello, I help out the science technician after school and get hours logged of service which go towards my school diploma which is optional. I would do the help out afterwards anyway but since I'm getting hours logged of service does this count?
Kia ora Emily
Thank you for your question!
Many areas of what counts as volunteering at school can have a tendency to fall into a grey area.
We invite you to reflect on how we have based the definition of what volunteering means from an SVA Service Award perspective:
"Volunteering is time given to help others with no expectation of reward."
Receiving a school diploma could be considered a reward, in which case it would not count. However, as you say you would do it regardless of the diploma and therefore your intentions fit in with our definition.
Many students log the same hours for both Duke of Edinburgh and Service Award, which seems similar to your situation. If you feel this is the case, we are happy for you to log these hours.
I hope that helps!
Ngā mihi
The SVA Service Award Team