The President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) is a civil award bestowed by the President of the United States. Established by executive order by George W. Bush, the award established to honor volunteers that give hundreds of hours per year helping other through the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. Awardees may receive a personalized certificate, an official pin and congratulatory letter from the President of the United States. This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too. The PVSA has continued to honor the volunteers who are using their time and talents to solve some of the toughest challenges facing our nation!
You can learn more about the PVSA program here.
Picky Eats is proud to be selected as a Certifying Organization for the President’s Volunteer Service Award. We’re excited for this opportunity. Our goal is to recognize all the good work our youth are doing to give back to the community. The kids are out there starting Lemonade stands, picking up trash, cleaning up the beaches, and helping the community. Rarely do these kids get recognize for their charity. We want to provide you the tool to recognize you or your child.
Picky Eats will absorb all costs related to ordering the certificates, pins, and the labor to process your child’s application. We want to recognize your child’s good deeds and accomplishments! We will also not ask you for any registration fee.
But if you would like to make a donation, we would very much appreciate it. The donation will be used to fund the other charitable projects we’re working on. To learn more about our projects, you can go to my volunteer projects site
There are three ways you can donate to Picky Eats:
- Cash or Check can be given when your certificate arrives.
- Venmo – @Tony-Lo-8
- Paypal @tonylo
If a donation is made, you will receive a thank you email from the Picky Eats volunteer and more information about their charity.
PVSA Award Eligibility and Instructions
| Hours by Award | Bronze | Silver | Gold | Lifetime Achievement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kids (5-10) | 26-49 hours | 50-74 hours | 75+ hours | 4,000+ hours |
| Teens (11-15) | 50-74 hours | 75-99 hours | 100+ hours | 4,000+ hours |
| Young Adults (16-25) | 100-174 hours | 175-249 hours | 250+ hours | 4,000+ hours |
| Adults (26 and older) | 100-249 hours | 250-499 hours | 500+ hours | 4,000+ hours |
| Family & Groups | 200-499 hours | 500-999 hours | 1,000+ hours | 4,000+ hours |
- United States citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e. green card holder)
- Must be at least five years old
- Any individual, family, or group can receive Presidential recognition for volunteer hours earned over a 12-month period or over the course of a lifetime at home or abroad. The following are the eligibility requirements for each age group:
Eligible Service
- Unpaid acts of volunteer service benefiting others within the last two years
Eligible Service doesn’t include:
- Donating funds
- Political lobbying (Non-partisan voter registration is an eligible activity)
- Religious instruction
- Conducting worship service
- Proselytizing
- Volunteer service performed as part of court-ordered community service
- Serving only family members
Award Packages
Bronze, Silver and Gold Packages include:
- Customized certificate
- Pin
- Congratulatory letter from the President of the United States
Lifetime Achievement Certificate package includes:
- Enlarged, personalized certificate
- Pin
- Congratulatory letter from the President of the United States
FAQ’s
- Does a PVSA applicant have to be a member of Picky Eats?
- No
- Will service hours completed virtually be accepted?
- Yes, as long as contact information for the organization that benefited from your service is provided and or photos of the service performed such as items made.
- Are service hours that have already been completed accepted?
- Yes, however they need to be current (preferably within the last year and a half). There is no guarantee that an award for service completed 2 years earlier will be approved.
- How do you certify hours?
- Volunteers are required to record service hours in the Picky Eats volunteer logbook.
- Contact information must be provided in order to certify hours with the organization.
- When will the PVSA order be placed?
- Picky Eats typically places an order for awards once a quarter for applications received the previous quarter. But if we can do it sooner we will.
To apply for the award, volunteers need to do the following:
Download or print the Picky Eats volunteer logbook form below.
- Record service hours in the volunteer’s logbook.
- Record service hours as they’re completed
- Complete eligible service hours within a 12 month period
- Once the volunteer has all of the hours needed for the desired PVSA level
- Email the logbook to pvsa@pickyeats.org. Only PDF’s will be accepted
- Include with the logbook all supporting documentation from the organizations you volunteered at.
- Fill out the form at https://forms.gle/1yaYsL1aZSd3mJAu6.
- You will receive a confirmation once we receive your documents. If you don’t receive a confirmation within two weeks, please email aiden@pickyeats.org