President’s Volunteer Service Award

In 2003, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation founded the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) to recognize the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity. This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too. The program is led by AmeriCorps and managed in partnership with Points of Light.

in 2023, Hindu Jain Temple, Pittsubrgh became a Certifying Organization to recognize its most exceptional volunteers.

Volunteer Eligibility

Must be at least five years old
United States citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e., green card holder)
Completes eligible service within a 12-month period (for annual Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards) and over a lifetime (for Lifetime Achievement Awards)
Volunteers on visa status (H1, H4, L1, L2, etc) will not be eligible for PVSA but they are eligible for Hindu Jain Temple Volunteer Service Awards.

Eligible Service:

Unpaid acts of volunteer service benefitting others. Service through National service programs that provide a stipend (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) may count towards the Lifetime Achievement Award, but not for the annual Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards). Travel stipends, transit/parking passes, membership passes, expense reimbursements, and other nominal volunteer support do not impact service eligibility
Hours may come from different service activities for different organizations/causes so long as Hindu Jain Temple, Pittsburgh is able to collect information from other organization necessary to certify eligible service hours. However, an honoree may only be recognized by one Certifying Organization in a 12-month period

Hours totaled over a 12-month period. For Hindu Jain Temple, Pittsburgh, it starts from October 1 to September 30th each year.

Eligible Service does not include:

Donating funds / Political lobbying (Non-partisan voter registration is an eligible activity) / Religious instruction / Conducting worship service / Proselytizing /Volunteer service performed as part of court-ordered community service / Serving only family members

Examples of Volunteer Work Eligible for PVSA:

Volunteer for any community events organized by the Temple
Help running Vidya Mandir program by being a teacher's assistant for language and/or yoga classes, help with zoom /audio-video set-up/white board set-ups, help with registration, help to coordinate cultural programs/workshop etc.

Payment/Fee

There is no fee or payment to be made by volunteers to earn any of the award. Awards are ordered by Hindu Jain Temple, Pittsburgh

Registration

Registration is required to be eligible for this program. Once you are registered, we can reach out to you to let you know of any volunteering opportunity and keep track of your total hours. Additionally, after registering, the volunteer is responsible to fill out the form below (click Enter Volunteer Hours) each time they provide their service. Hindu Jain Temple is obligated to maintain a record of all volunteers, their hours and the activities performed to verify and ensure eligibility.

Volunteer Registration

Enter Volunteer Hours