Each school year, Revere High School exempts seniors from their May finals if that particular senior volunteers in the community. The students must volunteer thirty hours of their time to any non-profit organization in the area, and they will not have to take finals for their classes in the third trimester. One can find opportunities all throughout the area, from the Akron-Canton Foodbank to Revere-sponsored activities. There are no shortages of events for students to help.

Starting in the June after their junior year, students may begin to collect hours for exemption, and they must turn in their hours before May of the next year.  Lisa Summerville, the volunteer coordinator at Revere High School, mentioned some places where students can consistently earn hours.

“[The] Akron Canton Foodbank [has] opportunities all the time, so you can get a group together and get it done. Another one is Cuyahoga Valley National Park. They have stuff going on all the time on the weekends, you can find it on their website,” Summerville said.

While students can choose to pursue their own volunteer opportunities, some forms of volunteering do not count towards exemption from finals. Revere High School government teacher Jason Milczewski explained the restrictions.

“You can only do ten [hours] per activity, so you have to have three different activities. The company must be non-profit, meaning the company cannot make any money, [and it] has to be outside of the school day. You cannot double count hours, if you count for boy scouts or [National Honor Society]. You cannot be expected to [volunteer] for any other organization,” Milczewski said.

Milczewski elaborated on the restriction of ten hours per activity. He said that different activities for the same group count, but doing the same activity on different days does not.

“It [cannot] be the same activity on two different days. It could be a church that hosts multiple events throughout the year, [let us] say you worked at a Church Carnival and also taught Sunday school that would count, but if you just taught Sunday school all day that would not count,” Milczewski said.

Seniors can consistently earn hours at the Akron-Canton Foodbank. One of the foodbank’s volunteer coordinators Jessica Robb explained that students can volunteer during the week from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm, or on the weekends from 8:30 am until 11:30 am. She also said that volunteer shifts typically last two hours each. Robb explained what volunteers can do when they come to the foodbank.

“There are a variety of volunteer opportunities at the foodbank. Volunteers [in the warehouse] have a hands-on experience sorting, inspecting, relabeling or repackaging donated food. [Office] volunteers assist with filing, computer data entry, mailings and other essential administrative duties. Volunteers [can also] support the foodbank’s special events team during events, activities, campaigns and food drives throughout the year,” Robb said.

Robb then gave her opinion on what volunteering does to help students stand out to colleges.

“Each college handles the admissions process differently, but in general, I think that colleges and universities like seeing an investment and committed interest in serving your local community.  Devotion to one or two key organizations over a period of time will probably stand out more than a couple hours here and there,” Robb said.

Robb explained some benefits of volunteering at the foodbank.

“Volunteering is a wonderful experience for people of all ages.  Especially at the foodbank, a few hours of service in our warehouse can make a huge difference in our community.  You will be sorting, repacking or inspecting food that will be going to families within the week.  In a few short hours, you can sort enough food to support a family for weeks,” Robb said.

Due to new standards in the Ohio curriculum classes with an end of course exam cannot be exempted through volunteer hours. An end of course exam is a state approved test, which is different from other Revere finals.  Milczewski said that the only class that should impact seniors due to these standards is Government.