The Presidential Volunteer Service Award ceremony has been postponed for the third time this year.
The awards were supposed to be given out in November, but because they were not shipped on time, the ceremony was pushed back to December. The awards still failed to arrive, so the date was pushed back further to January. Since the awards have still not arrived, the ceremony’s date is unknown at this time.
The Presidential Volunteer Service Award is given to students who achieve a high number of community service hours.
“It shows that your hard work really paid off,” said Cassidy Boneham, a tenth grade student who received the Gold Award this year.
Although the award looks good on college transcripts, most students do community service simply because they enjoy it.
“I did swim coaching this summer [for my community service]. It prepared me for coaching this year,” said Boneham.
There are four levels of the award given out to students: The LHS Award (25-100 hours), The Bronze Award (100-174 hours), The Silver Award (175-249 hours) and The Gold Award (250 hours or more).
The Presidential Volunteer Service Award is a program that was established in 2003 by the president. It is issued by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. The PTSA awards the students who receive this high honor by holding a ceremony. Along with the award, which is a lapel pin (gold, silver or bronze), the students also receive a letter of congratulations from the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.
This year five students were awarded the Gold Award: Cassidy Boneham (270 hours), Christine Chang (257 hours), Steve Chung (265 hours), Sarah Beth Duncan (327 hours) and Jillian Stanfield (300 hours).
Ten students received the Silver Award: Samuel Freeze (180 hours), Clara Freeze (189 hours), Isabella Higgins (184 hours), Mariah Hopkins (183 hours), Schayla Hopkins (170 hours), Dechen Lama (202 hours), Kenneth Purdy (199 hours), Brian Sell (176 hours), Andrew Sherk (182 hours) and Challie Sullivan (179 hours).
