Community Service

Community Service Guidelines

Community Service Coordinator, Victoria Perez
Email: AHSCommunityService@arlington.k12.ma.us

UPDATED October 16, 2024

General Information  Community Service Graduation Requirement

All Students must complete 40 hours (10 for each year) of Community Service, with a federally recognized 501(c)3 organization, as a Graduation Requirement.

      Students are encouraged:

• To complete some hours of service with the Arlington High School Community 

• Set a goal and create a plan for how you will earn these hours over time vs. waiting until the last minute.

• To continue their community service and to log them into x2Vol beyond the required 40 hours.

When can students earn their hours?

From the summer before their 9th-grade year and May of their graduation year.

• Each spring, administrators set a final deadline for Seniors to get hours completed and logged according to the year’s school calendar.

What is the Student’s responsibility?

• Seeking out and/or creating a personal project for their Community Service

• Obtaining prior approval from, AHSCommunityService@arlington.k12.ma.us, if you are unsure if a project will count

• Asking and insuring that an organization is a 501(c)3

• Obtaining contact information, Name, telephone number, and email address, of the project supervisor

• Tracking and Completing their required 40 hours

• Logging hours in a timely manner into x2Vol

• Asking questions if you do not understand 

Logging and Tracking Community Service Hours 

How are community service hours tracked at AHS?

At Arlington High School we track community service hours through a website called x2Vol.

• Please note that entering 9th graders need to keep a log of any hours earned until they have access to x2Vol.  An email will be sent out when that access is available.

  The x2Vol Process

1. You perform community service hours and get the contact information for the supervisor.

2. You log your hours into x2Vol, including the contact information of the supervisor.

3. x2Vol, sends an email to the supervisor for them to Verify that you did indeed complete the community service as you logged it.

4. The AHS Community Service Coordinators log into x2Vol and Approve that they meet the AHS Criteria.  

5. The hours are then listed as Approved in your personal Community Service File

   • If your hours are Denied, please be sure to read the note in the email as to why they were Denied, you may be able to re-submit with more information.

How do I log my hours into x2Vol?

UPDATED Steps for Submitting Your Community Service Hours

1. Go to x2VOL.com

2. If you have never made an account, click “JOIN” at the top of the web page

   1. Select the “My school instructed me” option and complete registration

   2. You can find AHS by using the school’s zip code (02476) or CEEB code (220033)

   3. Note: Your account will be listed as "pending" until I manually approve it, but you can still submit hours

3. If you have already made an account, click “LOG IN” at the top of the web page

4. Click “Log Hours” at the top of the web page

5. Select "Personal Project," then click "Continue"

6. Input activity & contact information (i.e., the email address of an adult supervisor who can verify your hours)

   1. Double-check that the email address is spelled correctly!

   2. You could also upload evidence confirming your hours (e.g., certificate, photo of signed hourly log, email from supervisor) to expedite the approval process

7. If you're combining hours from multiple days, select the most recent/last date you volunteered, then include a clarifying note in the comments section (see step #10)

8. Write your own reflection!

9. Select the AHS Graduation Requirement goal (or “Apply to All Non-Exclusive Goals”)

10. Review your responses, add a comment (only if necessary), & click the box confirming the information you provided is accurate

11. Email ahscommunityservice@arlington.k12.ma.us if you have any questions!

If you regularly volunteer with an organization...

PLEASE save yourself and us time by grouping your hours by month, quarter, and/or semester.  

• For example, you volunteer 2 days a week at a 501(c)3.  Instead of logging 2 hours per week, group them together and log once per month as 8 hours or once per quarter as 15 or 20 hours.

What Does and Doesn’t Qualify for Community ServicE

What qualifies as community service?

• Volunteer work performed at a local, state, or federal non-profit, 501(c)3 organization.  

  • Some examples in Arlington are volunteering at Fidelity House, Boys & Girls Club, ACA, ACMI, Arlington EATS, etc.

• Working on a school service project, individually or with a team/club.

  • For example, tutoring, helping out in the Media Center, helping out in the culinary labs, assisting the custodians, working as a teacher assistant for community service hours instead of a grade, helping provide building tours associated with a school event, or assisting the administration.

    • We strongly suggest you obtain prior approval by contacting us at ahscommunityservice@arlington.k12.ma.us

  • You can also volunteer at other public schools, both in and outside of Arlington

• Participating in an event for a cause with a 501(c)3

  •  For example, The Relay for Life, The Walk for Hunger, or Autism Speaks Walk

• Assisting local/state/federal government departments, boards, committees, and commissions (e.g., Town Hall), including political education efforts (i.e., encouraging people to vote and/or contact their representatives), but NOT organizing for a specific political candidate or party

• Volunteering at a Summer Camp or with a Summer Program that is considered a 501(c)3

  • For example, Arlington Community Education’s Summer Fun Program, YMCA Summer Camp, or Boys and Girls Club Summer Programming

• Community service conducted with a religious organization

  • A local church group is participating in a service activity to benefit the community, as opposed to missionary work or religious observance.

  • Acting as an ASSISTANT in a religious education program, NOT the teacher.

• Time spent collecting donation items & dropping them off at 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

  • You could also earn hours for time spent organizing a donation drive.

What DOES NOT qualify as Community Service? 

• Activities you do to assist a family member, friend, or neighbor are kind and helpful, but that’s considered being a good neighbor.

•  Activities performed at or for a for-profit business do not qualify, even if you don’t get paid.  

  • It needs to be a non-profit under section 501(c)3 of the tax code

  • Businesses, Stores, Dance Studios, Yoga Studios, and Gyms do not qualify as tax-exempt under 501(c)3.

• Activities for which you are receiving academic credit. 

  • For example, an independent study, internship, or community service course.

• Activities performed as a result of a court-assigned service,

  • You are performing community service to fulfill a requirement for the court system. 

• Participation in a political campaign or to promote a specific person running for an office.

  • Our reason is that 501(c)3 organizations are prohibited from participating in any activities that directly or indirectly participate in, or intervene in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. (https://www.irs.gov/charities-and-nonprofits) 

• Religious activities that are part of a religious organization’s practice, observance, or missionary work, including TEACHING Sunday School, which promotes a specific religious doctrine, do not count. 

  • These are part of personal religious practices and, while valuable, are not general community service.

• Personal donations, including money or physical items, whether used or bought, do NOT count. Unless it has been pre-approved by the AHS community service coordinator, you can only earn hours for the TIME SPENT organizing a donation drive or collecting & delivering donations, NOT the donations themselves.

  • Not every student has the means to donate, and students should not be able to “pay” for their community service hours. 

  • The point of community service is for students to spend time engaging with and directly supporting the community through their actions.