Tier Two District

Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District

Community Service

Why community service?  

The New York State Compact for Learning states that "members of the community help children gain maturity and responsibility by affording them opportunities for service." Mandating community service each year provides opportunities for students to explore and develop career possibilities, discover relevance to school learned skills, and cultivate distinguishing factors on college applications. Community Service allows students to be contributing members of our community each year while discovering more about their own interests and talents.

What constitutes community service?  
Some examples of community service are organizing or working:
  • At a soup kitchen, food pantry or other charitable organizations and events
  • With the aged, the impoverished, the physically or developmentally disabled  
  • At a community (including school, town) event for an important/needful cause
In other words, community service is time volunteered which benefits those in need, a community, or its non-profit constituents.  Community service is not simply working (nor performing) without pay to benefit a for-profit business or company, helping your family or others, providing a service for people with the resources to help themselves, or training required for later employment.  
For example, it is not...
 
  • Acting as a receptionist for a family or other for-profit business
  • Walking the neighbor's dog and/or shopping and cleaning for the same.
  • Training or internship without pay at a commercial business.

WHEN IN DOUBT, CONTACT THE COORDINATORS FOR CLARIFICATION AND APPROVAL

How many hours are required?  

Each student must complete 8 hours of community service per year, for each of four years.  One quarter (1/4) credit will be assigned to students each year, upon completion of their service, commencing with ninth grade.  This enables our students to experience the benefits of volunteerism all four years.  Therefore, you may not “pay forward”.

Where can I get a form, and to whom do I submit?
  • Log Sheets are downloadable from this BHS website, Blackboard and/or from Ms. Rutledge’s Maresca office #723
  • Completed Log Sheets with verifying signatures of the Service Recipient and a parent/guardian must be scanned and emailed to their Community Service Coordinators: Ms. Diane Guida (Junior/Senior) at dguida@briarcliffschools.org or Ms. Christina Rutledge (Freshman/Sophomore) at crutledge@briarcliffschools.org  
  • Log Sheets must be submitted before the last day of classes in June. SENIORS MUST SUBMIT THEIR FORMS PRIOR TO LEAVING FOR INTERNSHIP. A Community Service grade of Pass or Fail will show on the year-end report card and transcript.  This service credit is a requirement of graduation
  • Please click HERE to download the form.
What do I do if I am having trouble figuring out what to do for community service?
  • Check the "Resources" section of the website, and open up "Community Service Opportunities" to see this update of the local agencies that are looking for help. 
  • Click on one of the links to an on-line site that matches you with local organizations looking for help based on your interests and zip code.
  • Check the bulletin board outside of Ms. Rutledge’s office 1A to find out about upcoming events. 
  • Check your school email as the coordinators will frequently email opportunities as they arise in the community.
  • You may also email Ms. Guida or Ms. Rutledge to set up a time to meet.  There are always plenty of people and organizations seeking help.