Community Involvement Requirement for OSSD

To earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), every student must complete 40 hours of community involvement activities. Students can start volunteering beginning July 1st after completing Grade 8.

These volunteer hours must be completed outside of regular school hours and in a variety of community settings. Hours earned through activities that count towards school credits, paid work, or replacing paid employees do not qualify.

For detailed information on the requirement and eligible activities, please consult the Community Involvement Manual.

Finding Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer opportunities are regularly posted on the Volunteer bulletin board located near the Guidance office entrance and in the Guidance Google Classrooms. Additionally, the K-W Volunteer Centre website is an excellent resource for youth volunteering in the K-W region.

Submitting Your Hours

Students must document each completed community involvement activity using the Community Involvement Google Form. Guidance staff will track up to the required 40 hours needed for graduation. Once you have submitted 40 hours, please do not submit any additional hours for recording.

Going Beyond the Requirement

You are encouraged to continue volunteering beyond the minimum hours. Keep a personal record of these additional hours to enhance resumes, scholarship applications, post-secondary forms, and more.