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What is the MHS “Green Cord” Community Service Award Program?
The “Green Cord” Community Service Award Program is an initiative designed to help high school students gain a sense of community service, pride, and ownership. The program is a way to encourage 9th -12th grade students to contribute 50 - 100+ hours of approved community service . Those students meeting the requirements will be recognized as Green Cord award recipients in each high school year they complete the required hours.
Students can be recognized all four years.
Students meeting or exceeding requirements for community service will be presented with a Green Cord award for each year of participation. The minimum requirements are:
Freshmen - 50 hours
Sophomores - 60 hours
Juniors - 75 hours
Seniors - 100 hours
During the senior year, graduates will earn a “Green Cord” to wear during the high school graduation ceremony.
Who should participate in the program?
This program is for any student who wants to complete community service hours for personal satisfaction, community service recognition, and to enhance their college admissions and scholarship opportunities. Any student who wants recognition for completing community service hours should participate in the “Green Cord” program.
Why volunteer in your community?
Through volunteer service, people can strengthen and improve the quality of life within their communities and help themselves and others to live happier, healthier and more productive lives.
Volunteering is beneficial because it builds self esteem, passes on social values and instills the responsibility of a personal commitment by giving back to the community through service.
Community service hours can be used for college and work applications.
Volunteer work can introduce you to a future career and give you valuable experience and insight.
When do the hours of community service need to be completed?
For the 2025-2026 school year, we will accept volunteer hours as far back as May 2025. To be counted towards the annual "Green Cord" award, required hours must be earned by April 30, 2026. Hours can be earned from May 1, 2025 - April 30, 2026.
Submitting Hours
Keep track of your hours on the Volunteer Record Spreadsheet.
Please follow instructions on this page: https://sites.google.com/d/0B9VLAV1-U57SeTBHamRpNGN0bDA/p/0B9VLAV1-U57SYWkzblRnYUl3Vlk/edit?resourcekey=0-qE8XNxWclawf1G6Di55Iuw
The Green Cord sponsor and officers will review and update your hours. If there is a question about your hours after they are reviewed, the officers will contact you. If you do not respond in a timely manner, those hours will be forfeited. Remember that students are responsible to clear up questions and check their hours, not parents.
Where can I volunteer? Do activities need to be pre-approved?
Consult the list of approved non-profit organizations (also known as 501(c) 3 organizations) and make contact to introduce yourself and arrange for an interview/orientation, if required. If you do not know if the organization is approved, contact the Green Cord sponsor or officers BEFORE you volunteer.
Established 501(c) 3 organizations need no pre-approval. However, if the student doesn’t know whether or not the intended organization has a 501(c) 3 status, he/she should check with the Green Cord sponsor prior to volunteering to guarantee approval. Questions can be addressed by e-mail or in writing. If the organization has not been pre-approved, a student may count hours only if and after the organization receives approval as a community service site from the Green Cord sponsor.
In any volunteer situation, it is important to adopt certain safety practices. Never allow yourself to be left alone or placed in compromising situations. If you feel your safety may be compromised at any time, excuse yourself from the volunteer activity and report the occurrence to your sponsor. If there is an immediate emergency, call 911.
What awards will I receive?
Members will receive the Green Cord Award Certificate for every year they complete the hour requirements. Members who meet the Senior year hour requirements will receive a cord at graduation.
Regardless of what year you join Green Cord, you will receive a cord at graduation if you meet the hour requirements for your senior year.
What types of service will qualify as community service?
Only those hours performed by a student without compensation will qualify for community service approval. Any community service hours performed as a part of a court order, or similar judgment, will not be counted toward the student’s Green Cord hours. There is an almost endless list of volunteer opportunities for students. For a list of examples that could be approved community service activities, please see the section below.
REMEMBER: Volunteer work is just like a paid job. Dress appropriately and be on time.
Transfer Students
A transfer student may participate in the “Green Cord” program. The required community service hours may include approved hours earned while attending the previous high school. It is the student’s responsibility to provide adequate documentation of the approved hours.
What is expected of you as a volunteer by the organization?
To be reliable to your commitment
To work within the guidelines and standards of the agency
To accept and follow directions of the agency staff
To make sure you understand the directions given to you and seek clarification, if needed.
To actively perform tasks to the best of your ability
To provide feedback to the agency staff
To report any problems to the agency staff
To represent the school and yourself in an exemplary manner
What should you expect from the organization as a volunteer?
To be advised of the agency’s standards, guidelines, and expectations
To be given meaningful assignments
To be given a clear statement of tasks to be performed
To be informed of organizational policies and procedures
To be given effective supervision
To be recognized for work performed
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