Varsity Letter in Community Service

Each year, United Way of Pierce County partners with Pierce County schools to recognize and reward students for their volunteer efforts in the community. For more information, please contact Bethany Opstedal at (253) 597-6685 or youthunited@uwpc.org.

2011-2012 STUDENT APPLICATION
2011-2012 STUDENT APPLICATION (PDF)

You can also see an example of a completed application.

Students who volunteer 145 hours or more of service in a year can earn a school varsity letter, the same as those earned by athletes and musicians. Applicants must meet the following basic qualifications:

Be a student in grades 9 -12, attending any public or private school in Pierce County during the 2011-2012 school year. Home-schooled students affiliated with a school district are also eligible to apply.
Complete at least 145 hours of community service between April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012. If you have already completed service within those dates YOU CAN COUNT IT as long as you can document it accurately and you provide your supervisor's contact information.
At least 50 of your 145 (or more) hours MUST be in a non-school related activity unaffiliated with your high school (i.e., community organization, church group, Boy Scouts, etc)
You must have at least one school-related volunteer activity (i.e., Key Club, peer tutoring, campus clean-up, etc). There is no hour requirement for this.
You must submit your Community Service Verification forms for each service opportunity/group with the application. If you do multiple activities with one supervisor, only ONE form is required.
You must meet the 2.0 GPA requirement and include the Academic Eligibility Form.
Your application must be RECEIVED by April 1st.

For our full guidelines please visit our Frequently Asked Questions and out Helpful Hints.

It is very important to us to honor students committed to helping their community and we rely on you to be honest on your applications. We verify 100 percent of the hours you submit with your application to maintain the integrity of the program. If, after review, our committee finds that you have intentionally misrepresented volunteer work, you will be disqualified from this recognition program.

If your volunteer supervisor would like to bypass the verification process and provide you with a signed letter, this may also be accepted but it must meet the following criteria. The letter MUST be on organization letterhead, include your name, the number of hours and a description of your service with a timeline for the service. It must provide your supervisors name and title as well as his/her signature. The letter must only include volunteer work from the timeframe April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012. An example of a verification letter can be viewed here.

Deadline for application is April 1, 2012. Complete application must be received April 1, 2012 to be accepted.

For this award, submit materials to:
Attn: Letter in Community Service
C/O United Way of Pierce County
PO BOX 2215
Tacoma, WA 98401

You may hand deliver your application to our offices at 1501 Pacific Ave, 4th Floor, Tacoma, WA 98402. Please note that our offices are generally open Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm. We recommend that you call in advance to ensure someone will be available to accept your application.

There are no fees associated with earning your Varsity Letter in Community Service. The only thing it costs you is your time to record your hours as you do your service in the community. Remember, this documentation will come in handy when you start applying for scholarships, jobs and college! There is even a scholarship associated with this award available for seniors to apply to. Please see our scholarship section for more information.

A student who qualifies for the Varsity Letter in Community Service, will receive a certificate and a community service scroll patch if he/she is a first time recipient or a bar if this is the 2nd, 3rd or 4th year earning the award. These are free of charge. We are no longer able to provide the chenille school letter free of charge due to increased program costs and participation. School letters cost approximately $25 each. If you would like to be considered for financial aid to receive a free chenille school letter as part of your award, please review and complete the Financial Assistance Application. If approved, we will provide the school letter free of charge. This application should be completed and submitted with the Varsity Letter in Community Service application in order to allow us time to order the award.

There are three levels of the award. Please review the criteria below for receiving your bronze, silver or gold award.

Bronze: Complete 145 to 174 hours
Silver: Complete 175 to 249 hours
Gold: Complete 250 hours or more

WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER YOU APPLY

After you apply we will notify you that we have received your application by phone or email. If you have not heard from us by April 9th, please call 253-597-6685 to ensure that your application was received.

During the month of April, we will be contacting your volunteer advisor/supervisors to verify your community service for each opportunity. Please make sure to let them know that you have applied and they will be contacted in April by a United Way of Pierce County volunteer.

If you have received a letter in community service, you will be notified by United Way of Pierce County by May 7, 2012. You will be sent a formal invitation via email and mail to an awards ceremony where Varsity Letters will be awarded. The event will be held in late May and the date and location are still TBD. If we have questions regarding your application, we will contact you sooner. Prompt replies from you will allow us to process your application quickly and are appreciated. If we are unable to reach you we will be unable to process your application.

PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS

2011 Letter in community
service reception

Click here for photos from the May 26,2011 Varsity Letter in Community Service Reception.

Governor CelebrateS Youth Service Honorees
(May 2009)