Community Service Hours

Students need 40 Hours of Community Service Hours to Graduate.  Students may start earning hours in the summer before they start grade 9.

There is a Bulletin Board in the Guidance Office advertising some local volunteering opportunities that count as Community Service Hours.  Some other volunteer opportunities are listed on the Work in Oxford website link below.

What types of activities are eligible for Community Service Hours? 

In the Community: Offer assistance to charitable organizations, service clubs and not-for-profit organizations, such as: 

• Canvassing, walk-a-thons, celebrity games; 

• Coaching minor sports teams; 

• Helping to organize events in your community such as a summer fair or winter carnival; 

• Participating in environmental projects, e.g. clean-up, tree planting, recycling; 

• Assisting at seniors’ residences, hospitals, nursing homes, e.g. serving snacks, helping with crafts, visitation; 

• Leading others in your faith community; 

• Performing community projects, e.g. food bank, welcoming committees; 

• Assisting in local parks and recreational facilities 

Individual Support: Provide assistance such as: 

• Activities involving seniors, e.g. helping shop, reading letters, shoveling snow, visiting hospitals; 

• Activities with young people, e.g. tutoring, transcribing, reading buddies; 

• Assisting individuals with disabilities 

In the School: Help others, with activities such as: 

• Peer helping;  

• Timing, scoring, managing a team; 

• Coaching a younger team; 

• Organizing the school art show 

What types of activities are NOT eligible? 

An ineligible activity is an activity that: 

• Is a requirement of a class or course in which the student is enrolled (e.g. cooperative education, job shadowing, work experience); 

• Provides remuneration to the student (paid work);

• Would normally be performed for wages by a person in the workplace;

• Takes place during the time allotted for the instructional program on a school day. However, an activity that takes place during the student’s lunch breaks or “spare” periods is permissible; 

• Consists of duties normally performed in the home (e.g. daily chores) or personal recreational activities, such as athletics, music drama;

• Takes place in a logging or mining environment, if the student is under sixteen years of age; 

• Takes place in a factory, if the student is under fifteen years of age; 

• Takes place in a workplace other than the factory, if the student is under fourteen years of age and is not accompanied by an adult; 

• Involves the operation of a vehicle, power tools, or scaffolding; 

• Involves the administration of any type or form of medication or medical procedure to other persons; 

• Involves handling of substances classed as “designated substances” under the Occupational Health and Safety Act; 

• Requires the knowledge of a tradesperson whose trade is regulated by the provincial government;

• Involves banking or the handling of securities, or the handling of jewelry, works of art, antiques, or other valuables; 

• Involves a court-ordered program (e.g. community service program for young offenders, probationary program) 

*Please note that students cannot be paid for performing any community involvement activities.