Community Involvement

What is Community Involvement?

• a requirement for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma
• 40 hours of community involvement activities
• a constructive contribution to the community
• volunteer activity - not for pay or credit

Why has the Ministry of Education mandated it?

• reinforces civic responsibility
• strengthens the community
• enhances one' self-confidence and self-image
• provides networking for the future employment
• allows students to create a portfolio of work experience

• any time during the secondary school program
• outside class hours, for example:
• during lunch breaks
• in the evening
• on weekends
• during school breaks
• summer holidays

1. Go to www.volunteertoronto.on.ca
2. Register as a volunteer on-line
3. Once you have your User ID and Password you can actively search all of the postings at the Volunteer Centre.
4. When searching, making sure you choose the right age group and types of volunteer activities in which you are interested.
5. Remember, postings are updated on the Volunteer Centre site once a week so keep checking if you don't get what you want the first.

• Students will use their Community Involvement Record to keep accurate records of the hours going towards their community involvement diploma requirement.
• Extra forms are available on the ACCI website.
• A formal letter from the supervisor of your volunteer activity may be attached if it contains a valid name, address, telephone number, description of the activity, total numbers of hours involved and is signed and dated.
• When students have finished ALL their community service, they should return their completed forms along with any supporting documents to the Guidance office. Make sure these documents are copies only - students should keep the originals in a safe place at home. Do not hand in any records until the 40 hours minimum has been attained.
• The forty hours will be added to the student's official transcript and will be shown as completed.

• Refer to Albert Campbell Website (http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/albertcampbell) for detailed information about community involvement. Go to the Guidance section and follow the appropriate links.
• It is the parent's responsibility to supervise the location(s) where their son or daughter is volunteering. Parents and students should take an active and shared role in determining the relative value and safety of each community involvement opportunity before getting involved. The safety of students is of primary concern.
• If a parent/student has questions or concerns regarding an upcoming community involvement opportunity, they should contact the school's Guidance office and/or Principal to verify whether the activity is appropriate.
• Parents/Students must keep accurate records of all completed community involvement activities and be certain to follow the ACCI procedures outlined above.

• ACCI staff is not required to verify the hours contained in any of these documents but may
• Guidance and office personnel will authorize documents and enter the completed forty-hour Community Involvement requirement into the student's official records.