The community service program has three major objectives: (1) to provide students with various direct knowledge of social problems, (2) to instill in them a sense of responsibility for helping to solve those problems, and (3) to develop a sense of cooperation and community spirit within the school. The community service program is promoted and directed by the upper school Community Council and overseen by faculty or staff advisors.

Students may initiate their own projects, participate in projects in their community that interest them, participate in a school community service club opportunity or attend one of the school-sponsored projects scheduled throughout the year by the council. School-sponsored projects vary in focus and include volunteer work with social service agencies, environmental clean-up, after-school tutoring, and other outreach programs. These are available on our website and announced through email and social media throughout the school year.

REQUIREMENTS

The Upper School requires that students participate in at least 12 outreach hours each year, which may be completed during the summer preceding a given school year. Since the school requirement is only 12 total outreach hours, these hours must be spent working with an UNDERSERVED population and be HANDS-ON. This means that there must be face-to-face interaction between the students and the recipient of the service. Consequently, working in a food center warehouse would not qualify, but distributing food directly to the underprivileged from that same warehouse would qualify. (If the service is intended for the environment, there must be “hands-on” labor that accomplishes the cause.) Please note that most fundraisers, including walks, do NOT meet this requirement. We understand that some projects will include aspects that are not directly hands-on to complete, such as, making kits for the homeless and then distributing them. As long as there is an aspect of the project that is directly interactive, students will receive hours for the entirety of their involvement. Also, organizations often provide students with unpaid work or internship opportunities that do not meet our expectation of assisting an underserved demographic and therefore do not count towards the school requirement. 

Hours should be submitted at hw.com/students. Visit the submit hours page on the navigation to submit your hours. Parents must approve the submitted hours in order to be received by the Community Service office. Hours are approved regularly throughout the year.

CPR/AED/FIRST CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT

Additionally, the school has instituted a new requirement for all Harvard-Westlake students beginning with the class of 2024. Upper School students must complete CPR/AED and First Aid training before they graduate. Each full certification class qualifies for 6 hours towards community service. This requirement can be completed at any time as long as it is done by May 2024. Courses will be offered several times a year on campus, however, students do not have to take a course on campus. If a student chooses to not participate in a school-sponsored course, the course must be with either through The American Red Cross or the American Heart Association and must have a hands-on component. Approval is needed from the Community Health Officer (cho@hw.com) for certification through a different organization. Please note, it is the student’s responsibility to submit the community service hours for CPR/AED and First Aid training on hw.com/students in order to fulfill this requirement.

If you have any questions about submission of hours, please email communitycouncil@hw.com. For more information about the community service, visit the community council site.

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