_{Log your hours with NLU to be eligible for this academic years’ Service Awards!}

We believe volunteering should be the start of a journey toward equity in our city. Our programs are intentionally designed to help you increase your involvement over time, setting you on a path from connection to education to action in three engagement types:

• Building Connections: Connect with Chicagoans through service and collaborate to solve challenges facing our city.
• Deepening Knowledge: Strengthen your relationships with neighbors and learn more about the assets and challenges of Chicago’s neighborhoods.
• Championing Your Cause: Take deeper action on an issue important to you, whether through advocacy, organizing, or other change efforts.

Volunteering is a great way to gain hands-on experience, outside of the classroom within your field, while serving in the communities you are apart of. Visit the Civic Engagement Center at 18 S. Michigan Ave - Room 526, or email civicengagement@nl.edu for further help in matching you to an organization that aligns with your career aspirations.

• For on-going volunteer participation, please submit on a monthly or weekly basis.
• Multiple submissions of small hours will not be approved, you must submit all together for your week or month of total hours.

- For one-time opportunities, please submit after completion of the one-time project or opportunity.

- You must have a supervisor who can verify your submitted hours.

Required information for approval of hours:

• Student Name
• Student ID
• Dates  service were completed (for monthly, please describe your typical week/month)
• Total hours of service
• Name of Organization you volunteered with
• Organization’s Mailing Address
• Supervisor’s full name
• Supervisor’s Contact Email
• Supervisor’s  Phone Number
• Description of work that you did

Defining service at NLU - Eligible opportunities for NLU service awards.

• All dynamics match the Presidential Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) criteria in which we serve as a certifying organization for.

Eligible service includes:

• Acts of direct and indirect volunteer service benefitting others.
  • Charitable/financial support is not considered as service hours.
• Non-partisan voter registration
• Unpaid, voluntary service
  • Travel stipends, transit/parking passes, membership passes, expense reimbursements, and other nominal volunteer support do not impact service eligibility

Eligible service does not include:

• Donating funds
• Political lobbying (Non-partisan voter registration is an eligible activity)
• Religious instruction
• Conducting worship service
• Proselyizing
• Volunteer service performed as part of court-ordered community service
• Servicing only family members
• Personal development opportunities such as conferences and trainings
• Service that directly benefits for-profit organizations

Service Awards

National Louis University Service Award

• Volunteer of the Year
  • Student with most reported hours logged with NLU during the academic year
  • Applications open near the end of the academic year.
    • Stay up to date with all Civic Engagement Center announcements and opportunities by subscribing to our newsletter!

Presidential Volunteer Service Award

• Honoree Eligibility:
  • United States citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States (i,e., green card holder)
  • Must be at least five years old
  • Completes eligible service within a 12-month period (for annual bronze, silver, and gold awards); the hours for the Lifetime Award are cummulative across all years
• Award Levels:
  • Young Adults (16-25)
    • Bronze: 100-174 hours
    • Silver: 175-249 hours
    • Gold: 250+ hours
    • Lifetime: 4,000 hours
  • Adults (26+)
    • Bronze: 100-249 hours
    • Silver: 250-499 hours
    • Gold: 500+ hours
    • Lifetime: 4,000 hours
  • Student Organizations and groups
    • May apply for awrds as a group
      • Award given in the name of a group, e.g "NLU Rotaract Club" or "The Burgess-Peterson Family"
      • Each member must contribute a minimum of 25 hours for their hours to count towards the group total
      • Each member must meet individual eligibility requirements, i.e., must be at least 5 years old and a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident
      • An individual's hours may count towards both the individual award and group award
• How to apply:
  • Applications will open and be announced in May.
    • Stay up to date with all Civic Engagement Center announcements and opportunities by subscribing to our newsletter!