Volunteer Hours – What Counts?

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As a general rule, anything done as a service to others without pay will count as volunteer service hours. If a service is paid for, regardless of whether it is less than professional wages, then it cannot be counted as volunteer service.

 

Anytime people are called upon to use the honor system, there will be some exaggeration and misunderstanding. There are 365days in a year and 24 hours in a day; so …anything reported in excess of 8,760 hours has to be a mistake or a misunderstanding.

 

If you are providing childcare for a family around the clock, 24 hours is the maximum number of hours to be reported, whether there is one child or several children. The hours, not the children, are what are counted.

 

Now what counts?  The following are suggestions of services provided by some TRTA members.  These are just some examples, there are sure to be many others.

 

SCHOOL:   Hosting, “gofer”, storytelling, teaching students to prepare for the STAAR test or SAT, assisting in the library, cafeteria, gym, after-school programs, computer skills, PTA, etc.

 

HEALTH CARE:   Hospital volunteer-receptionist, manning the information desk or phones, clerking in the gift shop, managing the coffee or library cart, providing room service delivery, delivering the mail, hosting waiting room, taking a friend or neighbor to the hospital or doctor, working in children’s wards, etc.

 

NURSING HOME:   Providing entertainment, carrying trays, writing letters, visiting patients, providing snacks, reading to patients, pushing wheelchairs, etc.

 

HOME CARE:   Meals on Wheels, caring for elderly to relieve caregiver, collecting mail and papers for neighbors, keeping children or grandchildren for neighbors or relatives, replacing light bulbs, mow lawns, household repairs, etc.

 

COMMUNITY / ORGANIZATIONS: Presenting workshops, training volunteers, serving as officers and committee chairmen, providing food for potluck meals or cookies for meetings, etc.

 

CHURCH:   Providing food for funerals, serving in a ministry, meetings, helping in food preparation, serving on committees, assisting in nursery, office, receptionist, library, teaching a class, attending meetings, practicing with the choir, etc.

 

Our hours are reported to TRTA, which reports them to the Texas Governor.  A dollar value is assigned to each hour, and it is then determined how much money our organization saved the state or organization within the state in costs.  So, turn your volunteer hours into the Volunteer Chairperson at each meeting!  The reporting year is January 1 through December 31.