Each Vistamar student is required to complete a minimum of 80 hours of service during their 4 years of high school, at least 50 of which must be "direct" service. That means students must work directly with those they are serving. For example, a student may read to someone who is blind, assist with events designed for children with special needs, feed the homeless, work with Special Olympics or help make repairs at an orphanage. "Indirect" service includes activities like collecting supplies for victims of a natural disaster, participating in a canned food drive or being a part of walk to fundraise for AIDS or breast cancer research.

So that service hours are properly documented, students are responsible for filling out the necessary form and having the supervisor of the activity sign the form. Students must turn in the form within 12 weeks of the time the service was performed.

In some cases, students will need to get a pre-approval before they begin their service to ensure that the non-profit agency with whom they are working is an appropriate one.

We anticipate that several Vistamar students will volunteer for many hours above the 80 requirement and we hope to instill in them a life-long desire to give back to their community.

Please contact Ann Petit at annpetit@vistamarschool.org or Stefanie Knutson at stefanieknutson@vistamarschool.org for more information on our Community Service opportunities.