Elder Community Service

Servant leadership is a defining characteristic of the Elder Man. Elder students and alumni are known for being generous to their communities – here in Price Hill, throughout the U.S. and in the world at large. Elder alumni and students understand that we can change the world for the better by giving of themselves to others. Elder graduates move into their post-secondary experiences with a strong spiritual foundation and commitment to sharing their gifts and blessings with those in need.

As Jesus taught in Matthew 25.31-46, we serve Jesus Christ when we serve our brothers and sisters in need.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs? ’He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Serving others is a way that we live our faith. Caring for creation is one of the vital ways we care for our brothers and sisters while obeying God’s instructions to care for and cultivate creation (Genesis 2.15).

A true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. . . . Everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society. (Pope Francis, On Care for Our Common Home [Laudato Si’],nos. 49, 91)

FRESHMEN & SOPHOMORES
Minimum of 12 service hours per year. Students are encouraged to complete as many PURPLE hours (service to the Elder community) as possible, working hard to help the Elder community.

JUNIORS & SENIORS
Minimum of 12 service hours per year. Students are encouraged to complete as many WHITE hours (service outside of the Elder community) as possible.  You can still serve the Elder community and show the younger students the importance of giving back to your school.

Purple Hours refers to hours completed at Elder High School.  Examples include volunteering for Elderama Clean Up, helping out at sporting events, helping with Freshman Orientation, working at Elder golf outings, etc…

White Hours refer to hours completed for the outside community (not for Elder). Helping handicapped children in Special Olympic events, tutoring, soup kitchens, outreach ministries, mission trips, volunteering for vacation Bible schools, volunteering for parish festivals, and volunteering at a Fish Fry are all examples of White Hours.

Also, events held at Elder that benefit the outside community are White Hours. For example, helping with a St. Vincent DePaul coat distribution hosted at Elder counts as White Hours.

All 12 hours of required annual service may be completed as White Hours. 

As a Freshman and Sophomore, you are often limited by transportation, so Purple Hours are a great way to begin to serve others.

As you get to your Junior and Senior year, we expect that you will serve the larger community and earn some White hours, while still helping at Elder.  If your senior year arrives and you have not done any White hours, we may connect with you to remind you to do something in the community before you graduate.

Short Answer: You need a total of 48 hours (Purple Hours + White Hours) to graduate. Ideally you will have some of each, however we are not requiring a particular number for each category.

Log into MobileServe

1. Scroll down the middle section of the page.
2. Click LOG HOURS.

1. Change the date to when the service event took place.
2. Put in the number of hours.
3. Type of name of the service organization / event name. For example, “Price Hill Clean-up” or “Bethany House.”
4. Pick a category. Purple Hours are for events benefiting Elder HS. White Hours to benefit others through a charitable organization (501c3), school, or church.
5. Respond to the prompt: “Tell us one thing you learned through your experience – more than just what you did.”
6. Click NEXT

MobileServe has multiple ways to verify your service hours. We would like you to use the EMAIL verification method by getting the email of an adult (non-family member) ONLY.

1. Check-in and Check-out using the app on your smartphone
2. Include the email address of a non-family member adult leading the service event when you submit your hours. Make sure that you type the address correctly!
3. Bonus: Take a photo of yourself doing service. You can take a photo through the app or add a photo file.
4. Click SUBMIT

Please be sure to accurately log the time you served.

If you have questions, see the help page on MobileServe for directions on how to log your hours or see Mr. Forman in room 111.

YES. Students can submit service hours during the summer to fulfill their service requirement for the following school year. The student must log their service hours no later than the first 30 days of the school year.

Sign up process is different for each project.  Information about the specific process can be found under each activity on the Opportunities page.

• For some of the activities you will email the student leaders or event an Elder teacher who will take care of keeping the roster.
• For some activities you will email the volunteer coordinator at the specific non-profit.
• For many activities you will sign up using our MobileServe platform.

When opportunities are posted to MobileServe for signing up, here is the process:

1. Log into MobileServe using your email address and MobileServe password.
2. Go to “Opportunities” on the left side.
3. Click on “Invitations” to see events you can sign up for through Elder High School. Click on “Discover” to see events posted directly by organizations.
4. Show up to serve and remember to get your hours verified.

Here is a list of the types of service opportunities that we have been asked to help with over the years.  When these happen this year, SOME of these will be shared through MobileServe while others will be posted through this website – www.elderserves.org.  Be on the lookout!

Service at Elder | Purple Hours

Elder Admissions Lawn Signs (Spring)
Elder Athletics Concession Stand (Spring)
Elderama Clean Up (Fall)
Elder Concert Cleanup (Fall)
Elder Concessions Stand Workers (Year-round)
Elder Open House Prep (Winter)
Elder Toy Drive (Winter)
Grade School Football at Elder HS (Fall)
Party In The Pit – Setup and Takedown (Fall)

Community-Based Service | White Hours

A Child’s Hope Intl – Crosstown Packout (Spring)
Amanda Watkins Dunn Memorial Sand Volleyball Clean Up (Summer)
Arts@ARCH Storytelling Events (Spring)
Aruna Run – Cheer Station (Summer)
Bandit Bowl – K-2 Football (Fall)
Beiersdorfer Orchard – Apple Picking (Fall)
Bethany House Dinner (Fall)
BLOC Ministries ESL Classes (Winter)
BLOC Ministries Tutoring (Winter)
CancerFree KIDS Butterfly Walk & 5K (Spring)
Carson Strong Benefit (Summer)
Crossroads West – Family Camp (Summer)
Disabled American Vets (Spring)
East/West Price Hill Cleanup (Spring)
Fish Fry – St. Antoninus (Spring)
Fish Fry – St. Lawrence (Spring)
Fish Fry – St. William (Spring)
Forty Days for Life – Silent Prayer at Planned Parenthood (Spring)
German Heritage Museum – Clean Up (Spring)
German Heritage Museum (Spring)
Harvest Home Fair (Fall)
Holiday Glow Up at Dunham Recreation Center (Winter)
Hoxworth Blood Drive (Fall)
IGGY5K
Jimmy Heath House – Prep Dinner (Fall)
Kolping Center (Summer)
Mark Klusman Day of Service (Spring)
Mt. St. Joseph University Event Clean Up (Fall)
Nursing Home Visit (Spring)
Oktoberfest The Liberty Home German Society (Fall)
Our Lady of Lourdes Fish Fry (Spring)
Our Lady of the Visitation – Tutoring (Spring)
Ovarian Cancer Walk/Run (Fall)
Price Hill Clean Up (Fall)
Price Hill Creative Community Festival (Summer)
Price Hill Thanksgiving Day Parade (Fall)
Price Hill Thanksgiving Parade Assistance (Fall)
Queen City Book Bank Special Event (Fall)
Red Wolf Sanctuary
Rosary Rally (Spring)
Rummage Sale at Shiloh United Methodist Church (May)
Salvation Army – Ring the Bell (Winter)
Santa Maria – Vita Tax Program (Winter)
Saturday Hoops at Winton Hills Rec (Winter)
Sayler Park Oktoberfest – Clean Up (Summer)
Schützenfest Merchandise Booth (Summer)
St. Antoninus AdventFest (Winter)
St. James Fall Dance – Assisting adults with special needs (Fall)
St. Joseph Church North Bend – Mulching & Raking (Fall)
St. Leo the Great Coat Giveaway (Fall)
St. Teresa Holy Week Servers (Spring)
St. Vincent de Paul Coat Distribution – Fri and Sat (Fall)
St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry (Spring)
St. William – Weeding and Gardening (Spring)
Spiritual Boosters – Turkey Fry (Fall)
SVDP Angel Toy Distribution (Winter)
SVDP Coat Distribution – Elder (Winter)
SVDP Coat Distribution – Colerain (Winter)
Vintage Car Show Fundraiser for Love Quest Children’s Foundation (Fall)
Weightless Anchor Program @ Cincy Fitness Boxing (Winter)
West Park Nursing Home (Spring)
Western Wildlife Corridor (Year Round)

Students who earn 120 or more hours of approved community service hours will receive a Service Cord to wear at graduation.  This shows a true commitment to serving others both at Elder and in the community.

Submit your hours through MobileServe using a picture of you and the student being tutored. You can submit tutoring for service hours whether or not the student attends Elder High School. All tutoring will count as White Hours.

EXAMPLES OF PURPLE SERVICE HOURS

• Tutoring another student (from any school)
• Helping at a Elder athletic event
• Assisting with Elder Freshman Orientation
• more coming…

EXAMPLES OF WHITE SERVICE HOURS

• Helping with the St. Vincent de Paul Coat Distribution
• Serving food at Ronald McDonald House
• Building or delivering beds with Sleep In Heavenly Peace
• Doing neighborhood cleanup
• Participating in the Klusman Day of Service
• Volunteering with an approved 501c3 non-profit
• more coming…

Activities that WILL NOT count towards Service Hours

• performing service that is a graded class activity
• activities not verified properly by the supervisor at the service site
• helping your grandma, any relative or friend (These are great activities to do, but we can’t count that as service.)
• babysitting (paid or unpaid)
• more coming…

Short answer: NO.  You are not permitted to skip school during a regular school day to perform community service.  Non-profit organizations should not be asking you to do this.  You should tell them that school comes first.

However, if Elder arranges a school field trip for you and others to serve, and you obtain the proper permission from your teachers, you may miss classes as part of a school-sponsored activity.  In this case, however, these would not count towards your service hour requirement.