Lexington (MA) High School Senate

Community Service Information

The Community Service Requirement
Community Service Opportunities

Each student at Lexington High School must perform a minimum of forty hours of community service during their high school career (transfer students must perform 10hours per year of attendance at LHS). Students may begin accruing hours beginning the summer prior to ninth grade. The yearly community service requirement may be satisfied by participation in either a single activity or a combination of approved activities.

Definition of Community Service

A community service activity must conform to the following guidelines.

It must be performed without compensation to the student. Examples: Court-ordered community service will not be accepted. Paid work will not be accepted. Work receiving academic credit will not be accepted.
It must benefit at least one person other than the student or the student’s relative(s).
It must not be associated with religious ceremonies, services, education, proselytizing, or fund-raising. A non-religious activity performed through a religious community, but which does not benefit the religious community directly, may still be considered.
Political campaigning or work benefiting political organizations or causes directly cannot be accepted.

Process for Earning Community Service Credit

Credit must be earned according to the following guidelines.

The service must meet the prior definition.
The service may not be used to earn credit for more than one program or organization. For example, Peer Tutors may earn community service credit toward LHS or NHS requirements, but not both; students who volunteer in school offices may receive either personnel service credit or community service credit, but not both.
The service can be performed for an approved organization or the service must be approved beforehand by the Social Action Committee of the LHS Senate. You may submit a form for a service that has not been pre-approved, but you run the risk of having your hours denied for not meeting the guidelines of community service.
Completed and legible Community Service Forms must be placed in your Guidance Counselor's mailbox. Incomplete or late forms may delay the processing of your hours.

Approved Service Opportunities
The Social Action Committee of the Senate maintains a list of Approved ServiceOpportunities. Take a look at this list if you're having difficulty finding an opportunity to serve. All of these organizations have been pre-approved for Community Service credit at LHS.

Download Forms

Community Service Form	Pre-Approval Form (for students)	Pre-Approval Form (for sponsors)
The form submitted to Guidance Counselors for credit at LHS.	The form students should submit if they are uncertain whether or not an activity will be accepted for credit.	The form outside non-profit organizations should submit if they would like to be able to offer students Community Service for credit at LHS.

Questions Regarding Community Service
The Social Action Committee of the Senate meets weekly on Tuesday afternoons (2:30-3:30) in the Guidance offices in the Main Building. Students or concerned parties are welcome to stop by and talk to the Committee. If you would like to email questions to the committee, please email LHScommunityservice@gmail.com.