PVSA was founded in 2003 by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation (PCSCP). It honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities, and inspires those around them to also take part in community service.
The program is led by AmeriCorps and allows Certifying Organizations such as CALex to recognize the outstanding volunteers in their communities.
PVSA is a prestigious award recognized nationwide.
Sponsor：
CALex is a non-profit and non-partisan organization serving Lexington Chinese American Community. CALex has been a PVSA Certifying Organization since 2019.
Eligibility：
- United States citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e., green card holder)
- Must be at least five years old.
Important Dates：
- Volunteer Service Hours Period: 9/1 of previous year– 8/31 of current year (12 months)
- Application Period (current year): 9/1 – 9/20.
- CALex Review Period (current year): 9/20 – 9/30.
- Award Date: CALex year end celebration event.
How to Apply：
- Email the completed application form and volunteer hour certificates to volunteer@calexma.org. Please do not send to LexYouth mailbox to avoid processing delays and other issues.
- At least 15% of the hours required by the award level you apply for should come from CALex or LexYouth.
- Please also include the volunteer hour reports from CALex or LexYouth in the application package. Just attach what CALex/LexYouth provides, no additional work or signature is required.
- If the volunteer hour certificates are from other organizations, they must be signed by the organizations that provide the volunteer opportunities, or the organizations’ representatives. You can download and fill out this form for the organizations to certify/sign, or they can provide their own version.
- Community service hours cannot be reused. For example, community service hours are not eligible for PVSA application if they have already been claimed for high school community services.
- Please keep the original copies. When requested by either CALex or PVSA audit, mail them to:
CALex
P.O. Box 361
Lexington, MA 02420
Application Fee:
No application fee. CALex will cover the cost.
Award Levels：
- Hours Required to Earn Awards in Each Age Group in a 12-Month Period.
- The President’s Life Time Achievement Award: 4000+ hours over a lifetime.
Note: when your age is crossing two age groups, the age category to apply for the award requires your age to be in that category for at least 7 months within the 12-month period. For the award period from 9/1 of previous year to 8/31 of current year, you can apply for the younger age group if your birthdate is after March 31 of current year.
| Age Group | Bronze | Silver | Gold |
| Kids (5-10) | 26-49 | 50-74 | 75+ |
| Teens (11-15) | 50-74 | 75-99 | 100+ |
| Young Adults (16-25) | 100-174 | 175-249 | 250+ |
| Adults (26 and older) | 100-249 | 250-499 | 500+ |
Eligible Services：
- Unpaid acts of volunteer service benefiting others.
- Eligible Service does not include：
- Donating funds
- Political lobbying (non-partisan voter registration is an eligible activity)
- Religious instruction
- Conducting worship service
- Proselytizing
- Volunteer service performed as part of court-ordered community service
- Serving only family members
CALex Community Service Projects
1. CALex Year End Welcoming Newcomers Event
2. CALex Summer BBQ Party
3. Lexington Patriots’ Day Parade
4. Lexington Discovery Day
5. LexYouth Learning Help Program
6. CALex Youth Orchestra
In addition to the above projects, CALex is open to support more community service projects. If you have any idea of community service to suggest, please email: volunteer@calexma.org
If you want to participate to CALex community service volunteer programs, please sign up through this form.