Daniels  IBMYP Magnet Middle School Community Service

Community Service Form

COMMUNITY SERVICE GUIDELINES

 The Community Service program is a crucial component of the International Baccalaureate Program. The goal of the program is to teach responsible citizenship and help young adolescents look outward at the world. Sixth Grade students are required to complete 10 hours, Seventh Grade, 15 hours, and Eighth Grade, 20 hours. Students are encouraged to complete community service throughout the school year. Students may complete more than the required hours. There will be opportunities to complete some hours through school activities. A record of service must be maintained for each student. It is the student’s responsibility to have the verification form filled out and turned in to the homeroom teacher according to the following schedule: 

  • Hours completed during the summer – due no later than September 30
  • Hours completed during each of the first two trimesters – due no later than one week after the end of the trimester
  • Hours completed during the third trimester – due no later than May 15, 2009

Service is defined as work done for a non-profit agency or individual and one in which there is no compensation or reward for the individual completing the work. The activity should contribute to the well being of the school or community. Participating in a club, sport, or school-sponsored activity does not in itself constitute community service. If the club, sport, or activity sponsors a community service event, then hours would be awarded accordingly. Use the checklist below to determine if an activity is community service. Be sure to check with your homeroom teacher prior to doing the activity if you are uncertain as to whether your service hours will be awarded.

For an Outside Agency:
Is it a non-profit agency?
Does the agency rely on volunteers?
Did someone from the agency witness you performing the service?

For Individuals:
Is the individual unable to perform the activity or task?
Are they financially disadvantaged?
Are they elderly or in need of assistance?
Was the activity necessary to help the individual?
Is the individual someone other than a relative?

For Daniels Middle School:
Did a DMS staff member witness the activity?
Was the activity done through an official club or school group?
Was the activity unrelated to any grade?

If you answered NO to any question in a category, you may want to check with a DMS staff member to determine if the activity will count as community service hours.

Examples of School Service Include:

  • Cleaning up the campus
  • Collection of recyclable items in the classroom or cafeteria
  • Before or after school secretarial help or classroom assistance for school staff
  • Participating in a team or school sponsored community service opportunity

Community Service forms may be downloaded from the link at the top of this page or you may obtain a form from your homeroom teacher, the Main Office, the Media Center, or the Student Services office.

Please Note:

  • Religious obligations (e.g., serving as an acolyte, teaching catechism classes, singing for your church or synagogue, etc.) are not community service. If your religious institution has an outreach program such as building houses for Habitat, serving at homeless shelters, or other service missions, those activities will count.
  • Family obligations such as mowing your grandfather’s lawn, babysitting your younger siblings, and cleaning house do not count as community service.
  • Simply volunteering to baby-sit without pay or dog sitting without pay is not acceptable community service.

COMMUNITY SERVICE EXPLANATION

Community Service deals with our interactions within our school, our neighborhoods, and our community. Education and maturity encourage concern for others. A service is something we volunteer to do: we don’t expect or accept financial payment for a service. When we give of ourselves, we benefit others. Remember, this is community service, not family service!

Because we are an IB school, we have expectations for all of our students in the area of service. All Sixth Grade students are expected to perform a minimum of 10 hours of community service. Seventh Grade students are expected to perform 15 hours, and Eighth Grade students are expected to perform a minimum of 20 hours.

There are many ways you will be encouraged to help others while you are at Daniels. First, Community Service should be a normal flow from the courses you take. For example, when you study the rain forest in science, you can write letters of support to our government leaders or clean up a forest or river. As you study animal habitats, you might be inspired to volunteer your help at the Wake County SPCA. A short story from a language arts class might inspire you to help someone in your neighborhood….an elderly person, a mother with young children, a family new to our country.

Another way you will be encouraged to participate in Community Service is through clubs and organizations here at Daniels. Most after-school clubs schedule a variety of activities that are considered community service. Most of your teachers can use extra help in their classrooms. Listen to the morning and afternoon announcements; frequently you will hear about opportunities to volunteer as a group to help at area service organizations (e.g., the Food Bank, Wake Interfaith, Crop Walk, etc.).

In addition, you may have already been busy helping others during the summer. For example, your youth group in your place of worship or your scout troop may have performed some sort of community service. Your neighborhood may have a clean-up crew that you can help with….or you might want to start one! To document community service, you can download a community service form from http://danielsms.wcpss.net or you may obtain a form from your homeroom teacher, the Main Office, the Media Center, or the Student Services office.

50 + SERVICE PROJECT IDEAS

  1. Assist with a blood drive
  2. Collect food for a food bank.
  3. Collect school supplies for kids in need
  4. Create tray favors for a local hospital
  5. Collect blankets for a home shelter
  6. Participate in a coat collections for kids
  7. Assist with Toys for Tots
  8. Volunteer at the library or a museum
  9. Assist with a book drive.
  10. Read and record books for the blind
  11. Adopt a grandparent from a local shelter
  12. Gather pet supplies for a local shelter
  13. Participate in a park or stream clean-up
  14. Bake dog biscuits for an animal shelter
  15. Organize a beautification project
  16. Start a recycling project
  17. Make toiletry kits for a shelter
  18. Help non-profits prepare and send out mailings
  19. Plant a neighborhood garden
  20. Organize a bicycle rodeo for kids
  21. Baby-sit on election day
  22. Deliver Meals on Wheels
  23. Collect stuffed animals for kids in a hospital
  24. Write a letter to the editor about a topic important to you
  25. Send cards to patients in the VA hospital
  26. Write letters to military personnel overseas
  27. Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity
  28. Make first aid kits for your community
  29. Hold a battery drive for smoke detectors
  30. Volunteer at a local food bank
  31. Work in a soup kitchen
  32. Start a recycling program in your community
  33. Build a habitat for wildlife
  34. Participate in a gleaning project
  35. Send “thinking of you” cards to local nursing homes
  36. Perform at a local retirement community
  37. Design an educational library exhibit
  38. Help with a bird count program
  39. Make quilts for people with terminal illness
  40. Volunteer at the Special Olympics
  41. Volunteer with Senior Games
  42. Collect items for organizations such as Goodwill
  43. Volunteer with a local sports group for kids
  44. Collect sports equipment for schools
  45. Teach computer skills for elderly adults
  46. Clean up a sidewalk in your community
  47. Create a toy box in an Emergency room
  48. Volunteer at a community garden
  49. Volunteer for United Way
  50. Help a teacher after school
  51. Input data for PTA

Community Service Projects our school has participated in past years include:

  • Textbook drive for Guatemala

  • Several Food Drives

  • Making items for area nursing homes

  • Working at the Raleigh Rescue Mission warehouse

  • Yard work for the Joel Lane House Museum

  • A Food Drive for Urban Ministries

  • A Drink Tabs collection for the Ronal McDonald House and Diabetes Research

  • St. Jude's Math-A-Thon for the St. Jude's Children Hospital

  • "Dream Bags" were made for our troops overseas