Alternative Service Opportunities & Days of Service

Alternative Service Opportunities and Days of Service

  • Members are expected to serve a significant portion of their AmeriCorps service hours supporting their service site (minimum of 80% of hours). However, to successfully complete their required hours, members may also participate in community service projects or events outside of their service site. Our program partners have several service opportunities that take place during the year (Maximum of 15% of hours) and are given priority over general community volunteer service opportunities (maximum of 5% of hours).
  • Members must obtain prior approval from the AmeriCorps Director before participating in these opportunities to be able to count these activities as AmeriCorps service hours- lack of prior approval will result in the hours being rejected.
  • The Program Director will provide Pre-Approved Program Partner Opportunities that members may engage in through signing up through Buddy.Do (note: There may be limits to each opportunity, so sign-ups will be fist come, first serve.)
  • If a member chooses to participate in additional opportunities outside of program partner opportunities, they need to complete an Alternative Service Request. The Alternative Service Request must be turned in and approved by the AmeriCorps Director prior to participation in the activity. AmeriCorps Members are encouraged to participate in alternative service opportunities during their term of service.
  • AmeriCorps Days of Service: AmeriCorps Members are strongly encouraged to participate in Days of Service, including: Make a Difference Day, Martin Luther King Day, and September 11th Day of Remembrance.
  • Under NO circumstances will members be allowed to participate in any service activity that violates the prohibited activities as listed in the Member Service Agreement.

Due to COVID-19: AmeriCorps Members may participate in the following: Teleservice; grant-related activities that vary from those identified in the approved grant-application; activities that are not directly related to the grant, but are related to the host site or sponsoring organizational goals; activities that are not directly related to the grant and are conducted in community-based organizations; and/or disaster response activities outside of the scope of the grant.
In all cases, the planned activities are reviewed and approved by the Program Director to ensure that no unallowable or prohibited activities are included. To the extent possible, information about the service activities will be collected and maintained in the member file, along with verification of member service hours.

Reviewed & approved: 8/1/2020 HMS