Loudoun Valley High School motivates students to participate in volunteer service throughout their high school years. Those who show a significant dedication to service by completing at least 100 hours by March 1st of their senior year will be awarded a service cord to wear at graduation. Loudoun County Public Schools do not require volunteer service hours for graduation.

To qualify for a Volunteer Valley service cord, students must log their volunteer hours using the Volunteer Service Hours Record in SchooLinks by March 1st of their senior year. This record is accessible in SchooLinks via LCPS Go under Schools --> Experience Tracking. It can be filled out multiple times to document various volunteer activities and hours. Only volunteer hours from the summer before 9th grade through March 1st of senior year are eligible.

To maintain accuracy and accountability, students must provide the email address of the adult who supervised their activity. This supervisor will receive an email to verify the volunteer hours submitted. This verification form is crucial as it confirms the authenticity of the hours reported by the student. Any false reporting will result in the student being disqualified from receiving the Volunteer Valley Volunteer Service Cord.

Loudoun Valley High School defines volunteer service as activities where students dedicate their time to positively impact their community, benefiting individuals, groups, or causes without seeking financial reward or personal gain. By identifying community needs, individuals actively participate and contribute their time and talents to address real-life issues with a sense of social responsibility, aiming to show kindness and respect for the dignity of others and our shared humanity.

Examples of volunteer service include, but are not limited to the following if done without compensation:

• Volunteering at a local food pantry or distributing food to those in need

• Volunteering at a local animal shelter

• Environmental clean-up projects

• Tutoring, coaching, or mentoring younger children

• Volunteering at an assisted living facility for senior citizens

• Assisting with unified activities that support individuals with disabilities

• Becoming a volunteer firefighter or EMT

• Volunteering for individuals in need of medical care (i.e. hospital volunteer programs, blood donations, creating care packages for children in cancer treatment or wounded warriors)

• Serving as a manager for an athletic team

• Serving as teacher assistant at LVHS 

Volunteer service does not include activities such as:

• Attendance at club meetings (even for non-profits or service-oriented groups)

• Donating items or money (while philanthropic, we do not view this as hands-on service)