Community Service
Community Service Hours
Students: To record your Community Involvement Activity, please submit your letter or form through this Google Form.
In order to graduate with an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), students must complete 40 community service hours. Students arriving in Ontario after grade 9 must complete a pro-rated 10 hours per year. Students may begin earning community service hours in the summer preceding the start of Grade 9.
For more information on Community Service Hours, please refer to the board website here.
Eligibility
Change to Community Involvement Hour Graduation Requirement for 2023/2024
Please note that as of September 1, 2023, the following covid accommodations for Community Involvement Hours are no longer in effect:
Counting up to 10 hours of paid work
Unlimited hours for duties performed in the home
More information can be found in PPM 124.
Any students that completed community involvement hours before September 1 that aligned with these previous accommodations should have them counted.
The HDSB guide to community service hours gives an overview of the requirement. Before starting an activity, students should make sure that the activity is eligible by consulting the HDSB Policy.
In general, activities associated with non-profit, community-based agencies that occur outside of the regular school day are eligible. Activities that would normally be performed for wages by a person in the workplace are ineligible. If you are not sure, talk to your guidance counselor BEFORE starting the activity.
Evidence
Some organizations will provide a form letter on completion of hours, however, any document that includes the following is acceptable:
student name
supervisor name
contact information
total number of hours
duties performed
name of the organization
ALP/IB Students
It is recommended that students intending to enter the IB Diploma Program in Grade 11 complete all 40 of their Community Service Hours by the end of Grade 10. This is because IB students are required to complete 150 CAS hours which is in addition to the 40 Community Service Hours required for the OSSD. Information about the CAS requirement is available here.
Opportunities
Students looking for volunteer opportunities can consult
Morning Announcements
The Grade-specific Guidance Google Classroom
Or just ask their guidance counsellor!