Service Hours

Community Service

Community service is integral to the mission of Notre Dame High School, and a meaningful
piece of a student’s education. Community service should make visible the Gospel message of
Jesus Christ reflected in the Corporal Works of Mercy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church sees service in terms of virtue, which in paragraph 1803 describes as “A virtue is a habitual and
firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the
best of himself/herself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his/her sensory and
spiritual powers; he/she pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.

Each year the students are required to complete 20 hours of community service by the end of
the third marking period. Students should do three different types of community service.
Community service is unpaid work that gives to the community without any benefit to one’s self.

• A minimum of 5 hours must be completed for an approved religious organization. Ideally,
  this service is offered to the student’s home parish, but this requirement can be fulfilled
  by serving at another church, Catholic Charities, or another Church affiliated
  organization as approved by the Campus Ministry Team. These hours can be earned by
  altar serving, lecturing, ushering at Mass, volunteering for a Bible camp, or helping with
  any function the church might have. Liturgical roles require a priest or deacon to sign off
  on them.
• A maximum of 5 hours can be completed for a sports organization. The only exemption
  would be volunteering for Miracle League or helping at a CYO event. Students will not be
  awarded more than 5 hours for helping at sports camp in the summer.
• The remaining hours ∙ All hours will be performed for non-profit charitable organization
  that can include your school, parish, Catholic and non-Catholic charitable organizations,
  or other community organizations outside of the school.

Approved service work:

• All hours will be performed for non-profit charitable organization that can include your
  school, parish, Catholic and non-Catholic charitable organizations, CYO and youth
  sports organizations or other community organizations outside of the school. All service
  should support the mission of the Catholic Church.
• No form of payment can be accepted for community service hours.
• No service can be performed for family members or friends (such as babysitting, house
  or yard work, painting, shoveling snow or volunteering for someone’s business).
• Students may begin working on their community service hours for next year after the last
  day of the current school year.
  Community service completed over the summer must be turned in to the Campus Ministry
  Office by September 30th. Additionally, community service forms must be turned in online within
  one calendar month after completion of community service. Community service forms turned in
  after the deadline will not be accepted. It is the student’s responsibility to find service hour
  opportunities and keep track of their hours. It is also the student’s responsibility to turn in their
  service hour forms.

If a student does not complete their service hours by the end of the third marking period, further
disciplinary actions may be taken, including social suspension. Graduating seniors will not
receive their diplomas until their community service hours are completed.

Returning students will not receive next year’s schedule until their community service hours are completed.