Need clarification on what counts as volunteer hours

[xray328]

Hey guys.  I need some clarification on what counts as volunteer hours for the cadets.  For instance, if they work in support of an airshow with crowd control etc does that count? How about coming to a boy scout pack night and teaching aerospace education? Or attending a STEM night at a local middle school?  What about helping out at an EAA pancake breakfast?  When does it go from supporting the squadron to volunteering?  Are volunteer hours the same as community service hours?

We don't want our kids just volunteering to meet a requirement, but hope they find something they are passionate about that allows them to also benefit others.  But of course honor societies etc are going to be asking about volunteering so I just want to make sure we understand what qualifies and what doesn't.

Thanks in advance.

[DakRadz]

I'll use this double post to ask why the differentiation. If you are asking for the purposes of the Community Service Ribbon, then my below post applies. If you just want volunteer hours for something else, why? Just to help clarify your question.

Double post. My apologies! See below

[DakRadz]

From 39-3 page 13

Section 21

i. Community Service Ribbon. Awarded to members who complete 60 hours of
community service outside of Civil Air Patrol. The service must be verified by a volunteer
coordinator. Community service projects conducted by CAP units do not qualify for this recognition.
A bronze clasp may be added for each additional 60 hours of community service.

Emphasis mine.

Personally, my commanders usually held this to mean nothing done in a CAP sponsored way, nor anything I did in a CAP uniform.

[xray328]

In our case specifically, for National Honor Society.  Again, though my hope is that they learn that volunteering is about what that does for their character and about how it helps others - not just about fulfilling a requirement.  But that being said NHS is asking about volunteering so I want to make sure the volunteering they are doing qualifies. 

[Eclipse]

As noted, CAP activities don't count, beyond that it's whatever the CC decides does, though it's a good idea to make the
parameters clear to everyone.

We've had some issues recently where activities that are clearly "CAP Activities" with capital letters, are being sold to
members, especially cadets as "you will also receive 'x' community service hours - the ubiquitous airshows being a good example.
That's a check those activity POCs can't generally cash, except for people within their own AORs if they are CCs.

The same goes for missions - seen that tried as well.

For me, personally, I don't like "double-dipping", which includes for my own kids - the local school districts require
"x" many hours for each school session, and they need them for Boy Scouts, church, etc.   There are kids in town who
will stand in the soup line once and walk around waiving that sign-off sheet every place they need it the whole year,
which to me defeats the purpose and intention, but that's a call by the approver.

I realized recently that with all the BSA support I provide for my kid's troop, I could probably qualify for a for a CSR with a couple
devices...then I realized I didn't need another dec, and it would set a poor example regarding double dipping for myself.

Now, if another organizations, like NHS, will accept CAP time as community service hours, that's on them.

[xray328]

Looks like they better reach outside the squadron then, thanks. 

[xray328]

Any suggestions on how we, as a group, can do things that would qualify?   How can we organize a volunteering opportunity that would help them get volunteer hours?  It seems like the fact that we're organizing it would automatically disqualify it.  With volunteer service being a core value I want to make sure the cadets are not only meeting that expectation but also getting recognized for their efforts.  If we keep telling them "yeah that doesn't count" they might get discouraged.

[DakRadz]

Red Cross (blood drives, etc.), hospitals, museums.

[Eclipse]

"Feed My Starving Children" is an eas / fun way to kill an hour or two at a clip, if you have one nearby.

Providing information or contacts isn't the same as organizing.

[xray328]

Thanks guys.  My son's attending HOBY in a couple weeks.  One of the take aways is that they want them to take on a 100 hour community service project during the next year so that should also help.

[xray328]

I think I understand the requirement (finally).  So we just can't be the ones that organize the activity.  But we can, as a group, organize our cadets to attend an activity that's been put together by an outside organization?  So if I got a group of cadets together and drive them to Feed our Starving Children that qualifies.  But collecting food on our own and donating to a homeless shelter wouldn't.

[Eclipse]

If they go, out of uniform, and with no sanction from CAP as an official "activity", then from my perspective I would say yes.

[xray328]

Does the rule go that far?  "Out of uniform with no sanction as an official CAP activity"?

"The Community Service Ribbon is intended to recognize cadets and seniors for community service outside of CAP activities. Such service might be in a tutoring program, food bank, special Olympics, highway clean-up, etc. It would not include CAP organized activities such as airshows, aerospace education, search and rescue or any of the other typical activities CAP volunteers are routinely involved with in their community as CAP members. The idea of the ribbon is to encourage and recognize members who volunteer in their communities beyond their CAP activities."

"For example, a CAP search and rescue mission for a missing person is certainly a service to the community but the hours would not be credited for the community service ribbon because this is a typical CAP mission and activity. CAP cadets volunteering as a group to be tutors to underprivileged children or to work at a food bank would qualify as community service hours for all the individuals who participate."

It sounds like they just can't count activities that are a part of normal CAP duties. Volunteering at a food bank certainly wouldn't be considered "normal CAP duties".  It also mentions that "CAP cadets volunteering as a group", I don't know how they would do that without us organizing it. 


"The type of activities you reference (Earth Day, house cleaning, etc) qualify as community service either by individuals or a group of cadets as long as the activity is not organized and run by the CAP unit. These projects typically have some type of sponsor who should be able to verify participation by cadets. The sponsor is not expected to monitor activities but should be able to certify participation. You might send a list of names of cadets who participated to the sponsor and request a verifying letter so cadets may be credited for this community service. For example, the local department of transportation should be glad to recognize participation by cadets in highway clean up."

So by "organized and run" we just can't count things we've come up with on our own.  But if we organize a group of cadets to go do an activity run by another organization we'd be ok.

What I picture is "Hey we need to get our cadets out in the community to volunteer more. How about we take a trip out to Feed our Starving Children so the cadets can volunteer for a few hours packing up food for those less fortunate and the cadets wear our squadron t-shirt."  So we've organized the trip to Feed our Starving Children but we aren't the ones that organized the actual activity, the folks at Feed our Starving children are the organizers.

Or...

We do a highway clean up effort.  We're planning it but...

A.  Its outside of our normal CAP duties
B.  The Department of Transportation would be the sponsor

Does us wearing our squadron shirt disqualify us somehow?  I wouldn't think so.

And yes, it would be a "CAP Activity" but not a part of our "Normal CAP Duties"

[Eclipse]

Does the rule go that far? 

Yes. I believe it does.

We do a highway clean up effort.  We're planning it but...

A.  Its outside of our normal CAP duties
B.  The Department of Transportation would be the sponsor

Does us wearing our squadron shirt disqualify us somehow?  I wouldn't think so.

And yes, it would be a "CAP Activity" but not a part of our "Normal CAP Duties"

The word "normal" does not appear in the reg, and based on the quoted verbiage, a highway cleanup would literally not qualify.

From 39-3 page 13

Section 21

i. Community Service Ribbon. Awarded to members who complete 60 hours of
community service outside of Civil Air Patrol. The service must be verified by a volunteer
coordinator. Community service projects conducted by CAP units do not qualify for this recognition.
A bronze clasp may be added for each additional 60 hours of community service.

It's either a CAP activity or it isn't.  Other wings may vary, but in our wing, there's no way you're going to
be allowed to clean a highway without Wing sanction, full ORM, the works, and that's clearly a "CAP Activity".

[xray328]

"The Community Service Ribbon is intended to recognize cadets and seniors for community service outside of CAP activities. Such service might be in a tutoring program, food bank, special Olympics, highway clean-up, etc"

"For example, the local department of transportation should be glad to recognize participation by cadets in highway clean up."

Not looking to argue with you sir, it just seems over complicated.  Any thoughts on why they're so stringent?

If cadets are volunteering and serving the community why does it matter if we, as a squadron, organized the effort?  How else are we going to encourage 12 year olds to volunteer if we're not supporting them? 

And my apologies, the word "normal" is not used, but "typical" is.

Or is this more about CAP being covered on the liability side?  (Full ORM etc).

[xray328]

For instance:

http://www.mdcap.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.display&articleID=114


We might of gotten sidetracked here.  This was never about getting the community service ribbon..  The original question was can this be designated as volunteer hours as recognized by outside agencies.

[lordmonar]

For instance:

http://www.mdcap.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.display&articleID=114


We might of gotten sidetracked here.  This was never about getting the community service ribbon..  The original question was can this be designated as volunteer hours as recognized by outside agencies.

Well....I missed that.

If it is about being recognized by outside agencies......you got to ask those agencies.   It's got nothing to do with CAP.

[xray328]

Fair enough.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[xray328]

In the past, squadrons have given "community service hours" for various things. Not that these would count for the community service ribbon but a lot of times kids need proof of just "community service." Maybe that's the difference and part of the confusion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MSG Mac]

"We've had some issues recently where activities that are clearly "CAP Activities" with capital letters, are being sold to
members, especially cadets as "you will also receive 'x' community service hours - the ubiquitous airshows being a good example.
That's a check those activity POCs can't generally cash, except for people within their own AORs if they are CCs."

In some school districts students are required to complete "Community Service Hours" for graduation. If we have a CAP event, we tell our cadets that while the activity doesn't get credit for the Community service Ribbon, we will sign off on the school forms for their Community Service hours.