All high school students (Grades 9-12) in the province of Ontario are required to complete 40 hours of community service as a graduation requirement. This requirement helps young people develop new skills while encouraging them to develop an awareness and understanding of civic responsibility as they play a role in contributing and strengthening their communities. Students may begin to accumulate the required community involvement hours beginning in the summer after they complete Grade 8.

All students must complete community involvement activities as a requirement outlined by the Ontario Ministry of Education Policy/Program Memorandum No. 124a. These activities must be:

• a minimum of 40 hours of unpaid service

• completed outside of class time, including community involvement activities completed at school

• completed by the end of Grade 12 in order to be eligible to graduate with an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD)

• included in the list of the OCSB’s eligible activities

IMPORTANT NOTE - Two examples of activities that we regularly encounter, which are ineligible activities are:

• activities that would normally be performed for wages by a person in the workplace, and

• activities that provide a direct financial benefit to the student or to the student's family.

Please ensure that the activity that you have in mind qualifies as a service to the community BEFORE participating. Examples of eligible and ineligible activities can be found on the back of the OCSB Community Involvement Record sheet. Please also feel free to contact your Guidance Counsellor before starting a Community Involvement Activity.