The Congressional Award

*The minimum age to register is 13 1/2 and you must accomplish your goals by your 24th birthday.

Voluntary Public Service

Sharing your time and talents for the benefit of others is an important part of The Congressional Award program. This requires sensitivity, perception of need, determination, perseverance and dedication. Volunteer Public Service activities must be performed without pay, compensation or school credit. You should provide a direct service, rather than focus on issues. When setting your goals, identify activities that benefit the community at large. Keep in mind that political activities are not eligible for volunteer public service.

Guidelines

1. A series of activities may be combined to achieve one goal. However, a collection of unrelated volunteer service activities would not be acceptable.  Acceptable goals with a series of activities: "I will provide a minimum of 100 hours of service under the direction of the Volunteer Office of Central Florida." (A similar situation could be applied to service clubs, scouting programs, American Red Cross or other organizations).
2. In pursuit of your medal, if your volunteer activity requires you to spend several consecutive days, earning many hours in a short period of time, plan a follow up activity or continue other volunteer activities throughout the remainder of your program:  Acceptable goals with activity throughout the program: "I will volunteer as a counselor at a scout camp for 12 days. I also will serve as an assistant scout leader for one year."
3. In order to qualify, activities coordinated by a church synagogue or mosque must provide service to the community. Responsibilities related to membership in a religious institution (churches, synagogues, etc.) are not acceptable for volunteer public service, but many are acceptable as Personal Development activities.  Acceptable Volunteer Public Service activities: Assisting with food and clothing drives; Working at soup kitchens; Providing community-wide day care.  Unacceptable Volunteer Public Service activities: Singing in the church choir; Participating in religious education; Baby-sitting in the church nursery; Teaching religious doctrine; and Missionary and proselytizing work (preaching and converting).
4. Activities pursued, as a member of an organization or service club such as Key Club, fraternities or sororities must provide service to the community. Work related to internal, membership activities (such as recruitment, training or initiation) do not qualify for Volunteer Public Service.
5. Service volunteered at private businesses does not qualify for Volunteer Public Service, but may count as Personal Development. Volunteer service must be nonpartisan.  Unacceptable places for volunteer service: Volunteer work at a private office (such as a law firm or doctor's office), working for an elected official and working for a political campaign are not acceptable Volunteer Public Service activities.

Activity Ideas:

Animal care shelter work

Aquatics/water safety instructor

Camp/outdoor school volunteer

Civil Air Patrol

Conservation projects

Crime Prevention

Day care center volunteer

Disabled citizens assistance

Fire dept. or Police volunteer

First Aid Instructor

Health service

Hospital volunteer

Immigrant services (bilingual tutoring, etc.)

Interpreter       

Leadership (Scout, 4-H leader)

Library work

Meals on Wheels

Nursing home/aid to elderly

Park volunteer

Peer counseling

Public housing services

Red Cross volunteer

Safety escort for young children

Tutoring

United Way volunteer

VISTA programs

YMCA volunteer

Voluntary Public Service requires an extended commitment to one's goals. Months of activity are as vital to the program as hours dedicated to the program area.

Personal Development

Expand your horizons while developing individual interests, social and life skills. The Congressional Award challenges you to pursue a new interest or advance to another level in an ongoing interest, through Personal Development activities. In your Record Book, be sure to include your present level and then identify specific skills or new knowledge, which you will achieve.

Guidelines

1.                   Your Record Book should include a goal which identifies a definite task to be completed and activities which require the application of specific skills.  Acceptable goal: "I will improve my acting skills and learn more about working behind the scenes in a theatre."  Acceptable activities: "I will perform in community theatre, work as a stage hand, and learn about lighting, props and costumes."

2.                   If you are a full-time student, a part-time job could count for Personal Development. In order to qualify, the goal must indicate the development of vocational and/or work skills and the activities must be performed without school credit. Similarly, if you are employed full-time, educational activities could serve as a Personal Development activity.  Part-time work pursued by a full-time student as Personal Development: "I will work part-time at a bank where my duties will include: answering telephones, filing, word processing and operating photo copiers and fax machines. This will allow me to explore careers in banking.""  Education pursued as Personal Development by a person employed full-time: "I will attend classes to prepare for and take the exam for a General Education Diploma. In addition, I will explore jobs that I will be qualified for at a hospital and practice writing letters to apply for those jobs.

  3.          Your Personal Development goals can be pursued either individually or as part of a group. If your goal is within a group activity, your individual contribution to the planning, execution, and completion of the activity is the basis for assessment. Your individual progress should be measured against your goals, not other teammates.  Personal Development goals as part of a group: "I will pursue my interest in photography as a member of the school newspaper staff. I intend to produce at least 10 photos, which will be published during the next school year."

4.                   Your Record Book should show an intended improvement level from where you stand now in a particular skill or hobby to where you intend to be at the completion of your goals. If no obvious way to measure your progress exists, include extra activities.  Personal Development additional activities to show improvement: Baby-sitting-include child safety or choke prevention course. Reading -develop a vocabulary list and write book reviews.

Activity Ideas:

Amateur radio

Arts and crafts

Astronomy

Automotive science

Career development programs

Clerical and office

Collecting (stamps, coins, etc.)

Conservation/environment

Construction

Creative writing

Cross cultural programs

Dancing

Dog training

Electrical engineering

Fashion design/tailoring

Floral art

Forestry

Gardening

Horsemanship

Job training programs

Language study

Leadership training

Learning For Life

Literacy programs

Magic

Model building

Music/singing

National Guard

Nursing

Part-time work

Photography

Speech and debate

Sewing/quilting

Theater/acting

Venturing

Video production

Woodwork

Personal Development requires an extended commitment to one's goals. Months of activity are as vital to the program as hours dedicated to the program area.

Physical Fitness

Improve your quality of life through participation in fitness activities. The Congressional Award challenges you to set and achieve a measurable goal in a physical activity. Both team sports and individual activities are acceptable as long as the activities lead to an improved performance or greater physical fitness.

            Guidelines

1.                   Your activities can be competitive but your goal cannot.  Example: "I will improve my basketball skills so that my free-throw percentage will increase from 35 to 40 percent. Within one year I hope to advance from junior varsity to the level of a varsity player."  This goal does not work: "I will become the captain of the basketball team;" (Becoming captain of the team depends on the decisions of others.)

2.                   Your goal can involve a new activity or achievement of a new level of performance in an ongoing activity. Be sure to include relevant physical fitness statistics to ensure that a challenging, objective goal can be achieved.  Try to include: Experience level, Weight, Heart rate, Respiration, Specific skills, Times and distances, Batting or hitting averages, Average scores

3.                   Include your current fitness level or sport skill and specify how much you plan to improve while working toward The Congressional Award.  Showing a new level of achievement: "I can presently jog 5 miles in 50 minutes and I intend to improve my time to 8.5 minutes per mile. Through my aerobics programs, I will improve my resting heart rate from 90 to 75 and lose 10 pounds within 15 months."

4.                   Physical fitness goals for persons with disabilities are given special consideration. Often an appropriate activity can be identified with the help of a physician. Remember, a fitness activity does not have to be strenuous in order to be challenging.

Activity Ideas:

Aerobics

Gymnastics

Archery

Handball

Backpacking

Hiking

Badminton

Hockey

Baseball

Martial Arts

Basketball

Racquetball

Bicycling

Rafting/rowing

Bowling

Rollerblading

Boxing

Rugby

Canoeing/kayaking

Running or jogging

Dancing

Sailing

Exercise program

SCUBA/skin diving

Exploring

Skateboarding

Field events

Skiing

Figure skating

Soccer

Fencing

Tennis

Fitness walking