Hours by level
| Level | Voluntary Public Service hours | Months of activity |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze Certificate | 30 | none |
| Silver Certificate | 60 | none |
| Gold Certificate | 90 | 6 |
| Bronze Medal | 100 | 7 |
| Silver Medal | 200 | 12 |
| Gold Medal | 400 | 24 |
The levels are cumulative: hours you log for one level count toward the next. A month of activity is a month with at least one hour in this area, no more than 8 hours count in a day, and an activity counts in one area only.
What counts
Sharing your time and talents for the benefit of others, with hands-on volunteering in your community.
- volunteering for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which will likely count if the other rules are met;
- common choices: community clean-ups, hospitals and schools, libraries, shelters and food banks.
The rules to watch:
- No private or for-profit businesses, such as a law firm, doctor’s office, sports camp, private dance studio or private school.
- Non-partisan only: no political campaigns, elected officials’ offices, political action committees or 501(c)(4) groups.
- Indirect service (planning, meetings, organizing, training, research, fundraising) can be at most 25% of your hours.
- No pay, no class credit, and no hours you use for a graduation requirement.
- Service with a religious institution must serve the wider community, with no religious instruction.
- If an organization charges participants a fee, it counts only if the organization offers financial aid.
Direct or indirect?
At most 25% of your service hours can be indirect: planning, training, research, meetings, fundraising and other work that is not service to people directly. The official Direct vs. Indirect checker sorts common activities like this:
Usually direct
- Online tutoring
- Collecting and delivering donated food for a local food pantry
- Making packages or bracelets and sending them directly to the people affected
- Transcribing documents that go straight to the public
- Writing letters to seniors
- Setting up, running and cleaning up on the day of an event
- Free, accessible music and theater performances
- Coding an educational app
Usually indirect (25% at most)
- Running a 5K to raise awareness
- Fundraising for a cause
- Online research projects, such as on Zooniverse
- Captioning or translating videos
- Recruiting volunteers, speakers or donors
- Making a website or marketing materials
- Reading books to review them for libraries
- Transcribing documents that go to a second reviewer
- Lesson planning
- Advertising a donation drive or coordinating donors
- Buying materials for a service event
- Researching a service project
- Volunteer training
- Volunteer planning meetings
- Music or theater rehearsals for service events
An umbrella goal can hold several activities that fit together: “help young people in my community” can cover tutoring at the library, helping at the YMCA and packing school lunches at a food bank.
What the official Activity Checker says
The Congressional Award’s Activities page has a checker that answers for common activities. It is a guide only: the national office cannot pre-approve any goal or activity, and only the review of your Record Book decides.
Generally allowed
- Food donations or drives
- Clothing donations or drives
- Volunteering at a hospital, or donating items to one
- Environmental clean-ups
- Writing letters or cards to troops and first responders
- Making clothes, supplies or hygiene products for people in need
- Donating items to or volunteering at a library
- Tutoring at a public school, or at a club open to the public
- Scouting service and leadership projects
- Eagle Scout projects, and Silver and Gold Award projects
Gray area: explain it well in your Record Book
- Animal shelters, fostering and donations
Does not follow the guidelines
- Tutoring at a private school, or at a group that is not open to the public or charges a fee
- Working at a job
Ideas to start from
From the official Activities page:
- Volunteering for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
- Food drives, food donations, or handing out food to people in need
- Clothing drives or donations, or making clothing to donate
- Volunteering at a hospital, or donating items to one
- Environmental clean-ups
- Making hygiene kits
- Volunteering at a public library
- Helping public schools, such as helping teachers with grading or office work
- Writing letters to service members abroad or children in medical isolation
- Writing thank-you notes to first responders, hospital staff and medical workers
- Donating blood at a sponsored blood drive
To turn an idea into a measurable goal, see 24 Congressional Award goal examples. Your Advisor helps you set the goals, and each goal needs a Validator who knows the activity.
Frequently asked questions
How many volunteer hours do you need for the Congressional Award?
From 30 hours for the Bronze Certificate to 400 for the Gold Medal: 30, 60 and 90 for the certificates, and 100, 200 and 400 for the Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals. From the Gold Certificate up, the hours also have to be spread over a minimum number of months.
Do my school’s required service hours count?
No. The Program Book does not allow Voluntary Public Service that fulfills a graduation requirement, earns class credit or is paid.
Is fundraising direct or indirect service?
Indirect, according to the official checker, like planning, training and recruiting. Indirect service can be at most 25% of your service hours; the rest has to be direct service to the people you serve.
Does tutoring count?
Tutoring at a public school, or at a club open to the public, is on the checker’s allowed list, and online tutoring counts as direct service. Tutoring at a private school, or at a group that is not open to the public or charges a fee, does not count.
Do Eagle Scout and Gold Award projects count?
The checker lists Eagle Scout projects and Silver and Gold Award projects as generally allowed for Voluntary Public Service. As with every activity, only the review of your Record Book decides.
Does volunteering at an animal shelter count?
It is a gray area on the official checker. If you use it, explain how the service helps the public, and count only active work: the Program Book says simply playing or being with an animal is not service.
Can I volunteer through my church, mosque or synagogue?
Yes, if the service reaches the wider community and includes no religious instruction or proselytizing. Sunday school or beautifying the building does not count as public service, but religious activities can count toward Personal Development.
Can I volunteer at a hospital or a doctor’s office?
Hospital volunteering is on the checker’s allowed list. A private business, such as a doctor’s office or a law firm, does not count.
What if I start my own nonprofit?
The Program Book says participants who found their own 501(c)(3) nonprofit may have the 25% indirect limit waived.
The other areas
Personal Development, Physical Fitness, and the Expedition/Exploration. Every level needs all four.