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COMMUNITY

INVOLVEMENT

What You Need to Know!

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How to Register for Hour Republic

Follow the link below if you still need to register for Hour Republic.

How to Register for Hour Republic

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How to Get to Hour Republic

How to find the Hour Republic link and what you need to do to register:

Go to D2L: then click on the External Tools where you will find

the Hour Republic link:

4 things YOU need to add when you register in Hour Republic:

  • School Board
  • School
  • Year
  • Password

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All the following information can be found in the Community Involvement subsite on the SWC website:

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Graduation Requirement

Every student who begins secondary school in Ontario must complete a minimum of forty (40) hours of community involvement activities as part of their diploma requirements.

Community involvement activities may take place in a variety of settings, including not-for-profit organizations, public sector institutions (including hospitals) and informal settings (charities, city events, political campaigns).

Students may not fulfill the requirement with “for-profit” organizations or businesses or through activities that are counted towards a credit (for example, Cooperative Education and work experience), through paid work or by assuming duties that would normally be performed by a paid employee.

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Where Can I Do My Community Service Hours?

ELIGIBLE Activities would include:

  • An activity or event which is a benefit to the community.
  • Is to be completed outside the regular school day
  • May be a structured program to promote tutoring, mentoring, visiting, and coaching whose purpose is to assist others.
  • An activity that supports work of a global nature or promotes environmental awareness(ex/ Earth Day Clean Up, tree planting).
  • An activity with a club, religious organization, arts or cultural association, or political organization that seeks to make a positive contribution in the community.
  • An activity that promotes and contributes to the health and well-being of any group, including some school based activities (only those school based activities which extend their service to a wider community).

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EXAMPLES OF ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES

Coaching/Assistant Coaching Youth Sports, Camp Volunteers

  • CYO Basketball, CYO Minor Hockey, Timbits Soccer, St. Catharines Minor Baseball, Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, City of St. Catharines Recreation, Brock University, Bethany Church, Sportball Niagara, ect

Volunteering at Parades, Summer Fairs, Community Events

  • Greek Festival, Grape & Wine Festival and Parade, Niagara Folks Art Festival, Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, Ball’s Falls Thanksgiving Festival,

Provincial and National non-profit Organizations

  • Heart and Stroke Foundation, United Way, Girl Guides and Scouting of Canada, Canadian Red Cross, Canadian Cancer Society, Rotary and Service Clubs, Humane Society, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Arthritis Society, Habitat for Humanity, YMCA

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ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES CONTINUED...

Fundraising or Awareness Runs/Walks Events

  • CIBC Run for the Cure, Big Move Cancer Ride, Casino Niagara Marathon, Kids Ultimate Challenge, Breakfast with Santa, Hike for Hospice

Other Local Volunteer Opportunities

  • Leaf & Snow Buddies
  • Pathstone Mental Health
  • Eco-Defenders
  • Parasport Ontario: Brock Niagara Penguins

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EXAMPLES OF INELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES

Activities that would normally be performed for wages by a person in the workplace

Activities during instructional/ class time within the school day

Required activities of a course where you earn a credit

Participating on school sports teams or clubs

Experiential learning (e.g. “Take Our Kids to Work Day”, job shadow )

Regular family responsibilities (chores)

Court ordered community service programs

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EXAMPLES OF INELIGIBLE ACTIVITES

Examples of Ineligible Activities

Examples of Similar Eligible Community Involvement

Volunteering at a landscaping company (replaces paid employment)

Landscaping and gardening at a local church, community vegetable garden (rely on community volunteers because the focus of the organization is on community benefit)

Stocking shelves at a local grocery store (replaces paid employment)

Stocking shelves at a local food bank (focus of the organization is on community benefit)

Shoveling snow at home (family chore)

Shoveling snow for a neighbour who requires community support to stay in their home (e.g. person with a disability or a senior citizen)

Babysitting younger siblings (family chore)

Child minding at a community event (e.g. Welcome to High School parent evening)

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You can view the full Community Involvement booklet here:

If you have any further inquiries about your Community Involvement hours or activities, come into Guidance.

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How To Add Hours

On the dashboard, make sure the hour type is set to volunteer and then click the HOURS link on the left hand side.

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Once you get to this screen, click on the green +Add Hours link on the top right side of the page.

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This is where you will add the Organization name and contact, hours completed, and a parent email. PLEASE MAKE SURE THE CATEGORY IS SET TO VOLUNTEER IN THE DROPDOWN MENU.

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On that same page, you will put in the skills learned from the dropdown menu and the description of what you did during the volunteer time. Finally, verify the activity and hit Save and Submit at the top right side of the page.