High school recognizes students that give back to their community

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Many Charles City high school students can be found volunteering in the community, but a select few will be recognized at graduation with a Silver Cord to showcase their exemplary dedication to serving.

Started by a group of students in the late 2000s, the Silver Cord program recognizes students that go above-and-beyond in volunteering for their community.

In past years, the program generally saw between 14 and 18 recipients each year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic created a major disruption in volunteer opportunities. The program reduced the required number of volunteer hours to accommodate the COVID disruption for 2022 and has been gradually raising them back up. For 2024, students will need 175 hours of volunteering to receive their cord.

“I have five that have it and two that are on track,” said Angela Holzer, the counselor who oversees the silver cord committee.

Knocking out the hours needed to get a silver cord is no small feat, but it’s more manageable if you start early. Since the qualifying period begins with the summer before a student’s freshman year, Holzer makes sure to reach out to graduating eighth grade students to tell them about the program so they start working on their volunteer hours as early as possible.

“It gives you a good head start,” said Holzer.

It takes more than just volunteering to get the silver cord as well. Volunteer hours must be properly documented, meaning that students have to keep track of their volunteer hours and maintain those records from as early as their freshman year through graduation.

“We have a lot of kids that volunteer all the time, but this particular program you need to go and get signatures for so it’s a little tougher,” said Holzer.

A diversity of volunteering activities is required as well. A single activity can only account for up to half of a student’s qualifying hours, forcing them to round out their volunteer efforts across multiple areas.

Fortunately there are plenty of options for volunteering available. Coaching, cleaning, tutoring, fundraising, and campaigning are all viable activities. Service hours must be done outside of school time, though some students do utilize their lunch breaks and free periods to work during the school day.

Holzer also operates a Google classroom that connects students with volunteering opportunities, sharing information about organizations in need of volunteers and making sure they keep their deadlines in mind.

“I encourage as many students to do it as possible,” said Holzer.