Find an idea
Pick where you want to help and what you care about.
Where
Interest
30 ideas
Online Kids and teaching
Tutor other students online
Schoolhouse.world runs free tutoring sessions over Zoom. You must be at least 13: get certified in a topic through Khan Academy, send a short application, finish the training, then host sessions.
Who signs: Its Volunteer Hours Tracker records your sessions, and you can export a signed PDF of your approved hours. Signing another form or platform can take up to 20 business days.
Online Older adults · Tech and languages
Help older adults with phones and computers
Cyber-Seniors volunteers help older adults with technology in Zoom webinars and by phone. Register, then complete its training: 8 short videos and quizzes, about 2 hours.
Who signs: Your hours are tracked, and you can download a Volunteer Hours Report from your Cyber-Seniors dashboard.
Online Community and history
Transcribe history for the Smithsonian
The Smithsonian Transcription Center needs volunteers to type up handwritten documents. Create an account before you start (you must be 14 or older): work done without one cannot be added to your record later.
Who signs: No one signs: the Smithsonian cannot supervise volunteers or sign forms. Its My Work report lists each contribution by date and time, so log your own hours and ask your adviser first whether the report is enough.
Online Community and history
Tag and transcribe records for the National Archives
Citizen Archivists tag photos and transcribe records in the National Archives Catalog, at their own pace.
Who signs: The National Archives does not track or sign off on hours. It suggests showing your school a screenshot of the records in your account, the address of every page you transcribed and your own log of the time.
Online Tech and languages
Make a website or social posts for a small nonprofit
Offer a food pantry, shelter or library a simple website, flyers or a month of social posts. Agree in writing on what they need before you start.
Who signs: The nonprofit’s director or volunteer coordinator, on your log.
Check first: Ask your school whether it counts service done online. Washington, DC does. Washington, DC rules
At home Health · Kids and teaching
Make cards for kids in the hospital
Cards for Hospitalized Kids sends handmade cards to children in hospitals. Follow the card guidelines on its site and keep a time log: the date, start time and finish time.
Who signs: Mail a cover letter with your cards asking for service hours; requests by email alone are not accepted. Hours are based on your time, not the number of cards, and it can verify through MobileServe or x2VOL.
At home Health · Kids and teaching
Make blankets for children
Project Linus chapters collect new, handmade, washable blankets for children from newborns to 18. Find your local chapter and ask what sizes it needs.
Who signs: Ask the chapter coordinator before you start whether they can confirm your hours, and log the time you spend.
At home Animals
Foster kittens or puppies
Rescues need homes for young or recovering animals until they are adopted. Fostering is a family decision, so ask a parent, then ask a nonprofit rescue or shelter about its foster program.
Who signs: The rescue’s foster coordinator.
Check first: Palm Beach County counts fostering for a nonprofit animal organization, up to 4 hours a day. Palm Beach County rules
Online programs that confirm your hours
Online service is easy to start and harder to prove. Check what each program gives you before you begin, and ask your school whether it accepts online hours.
Who can join: Ages 13 to 25 in the U.S.
Proof of your hours: A certificate with your hours, signed by a DoSomething staffer, once the photo of your action is approved (up to two weeks). It also signs school forms (PDFs are quickest); for MobileServe or HelperHelper, email volunteer@dosomething.org first. It cannot take x2VOL requests.
Who can join: 13 and older, certified in the topic you tutor
Proof of your hours: A signed PDF of your approved hours from its Volunteer Hours Tracker. Signing other forms or platforms can take up to 20 business days.
Who can join: Anyone who mails cards
Proof of your hours: A service letter once your cards and cover letter arrive by mail, based on the time you spent. It verifies through MobileServe and x2VOL too.
Who can join: Volunteers who finish its training (about 2 hours)
Proof of your hours: A Volunteer Hours Report you download from your dashboard.
Who can join: Anyone; an account, which keeps your record, from age 14
Proof of your hours: A My Work report with the date and time of each contribution. No one signs forms, so log your own hours.
Who can join: Anyone
Proof of your hours: None: it does not track or sign hours. Show a screenshot of the records in your account, the page addresses and your own time log.
Will it count? The rules that trip students up
Every school, district and program writes its own rules, and they disagree. These come from the official rules behind our guides:
- Donating is not service. Broward, Palm Beach and Atlanta do not count giving items. The time you spend collecting for a drive does count in Broward (outside the school day) and Palm Beach.
- Family does not count. Helping or babysitting for your own family is excluded in Broward and Washington, DC, and National Beta calls it a family responsibility, not service.
- Paid work is not service in Seattle, Atlanta or DC. Florida Bright Futures is the exception: 100 paid work hours, or paid and volunteer hours combined, can meet its requirement.
- Campaigns depend on where you live. Unpaid campaign work counts in Broward (except school board races) and Palm Beach; political campaigning does not count in DC.
- Places of worship: Broward counts jobs like landscaping, clean-up days or the day care center, but not religious services or teaching religion. Arkansas generally accepts service with churches.
- Practices and meetings are not service. Palm Beach does not count rehearsals, sports or band practice, or club meetings that plan service, and Key Club does not count its meetings.
- The organization matters. Atlanta counts outside service only with a nonprofit that has held 501(c)(3) status and operated for at least a year, and Maryland school systems approve the organizations and activities that count.
- Online service: Washington, DC counts service done in person or online. If your school's rules do not say, ask before you rely on online hours.
The rules in full: Broward, Palm Beach, Atlanta, Seattle, Washington, DC, Arkansas, Maryland, Beta Club and Key Club. Not listed? See service hours to graduate in every state.
How to get your hours signed
- Ask before you start. DC asks students to get activities pre-approved, Broward has a Community Service Approval Form for service outside school clubs, and in Atlanta events must be registered in Tiersphere first.
- Choose a place with an adult in charge: a nonprofit, school, library, place of worship or public agency. A project with no organization behind it is the hardest to get approved.
- Log it the same day: the date, start and end time, what you did, and your supervisor's name, title and email.
- Ask the right person to sign: someone from the organization who saw your work, never a relative. In Broward a family member or another student cannot certify your hours, and in Palm Beach a parent cannot verify them.
- Online, know who signs before you start. Some programs sign forms, others only give a report (see the table above).
- Keep a copy of every log and form you turn in.
Need paper? Print the free volunteer hours log or copy the verification letter template. In My Award Tracker, supervisors confirm each entry with one click by email, and your record shows who confirmed it and when.
Starting your own project
No idea above fits? Start with a need you have noticed, then find an organization that will supervise the project and sign your hours, write a one-paragraph plan, and get it approved before you begin. Record every helper's hours, the way Eagle Scout candidates do, and write down what changed because of your work. Bigger projects can also earn an award: see the Gold Award and the Congressional Award.
Frequently asked questions
What are good community service ideas for high school students?
Pick something you will keep doing: tutoring younger kids, sorting food at a food bank, a park or beach cleanup, helping at an animal shelter or the library, or tutoring online with Schoolhouse.world. Each idea on this page says how to start and who can sign your hours.
Can I do community service online?
Yes. Schoolhouse.world gives tutors a signed PDF of their hours, Cyber-Seniors gives a volunteer hours report and DoSomething.org a signed certificate. The Smithsonian Transcription Center and the National Archives do not sign hours, and not every school accepts online service, so ask first.
How can I get community service hours at home?
Make cards for Cards for Hospitalized Kids, which sends a service letter based on your time log, make blankets for a Project Linus chapter, or foster animals for a nonprofit rescue with your family. Ask how the hours are confirmed before you start.
Does donating count as community service?
Usually not. Broward County, Palm Beach County and Atlanta Public Schools do not count donating items. The time you spend collecting for a drive does count in Broward and Palm Beach.
Who can sign my community service hours?
An adult from the organization who supervised your work, such as the volunteer coordinator, and never a relative. Broward does not let a family member or another student certify hours, and Palm Beach does not let a parent verify them.
Can a 13 or 14-year-old volunteer?
Yes. Schoolhouse.world tutors and DoSomething.org members can start at 13, and Smithsonian Transcription Center accounts at 14. Some places set higher ages: you must be 16 to work on a Habitat for Humanity construction site.
Do political campaigns count as community service?
It depends on your school. Unpaid campaign work counts in Broward (except school board races) and Palm Beach counties, but political campaigning does not count in Washington, DC.