If you volunteer,why do you have to complete a volunteer application and why do they require you to accumulate

Question

Why do they require you to accumulate a minimum amount of hours per year? What happens if you are unable to meet the minimum hours due to starting your volunteer services late in the year? Do they count a year as 365 days or does a year mean "by December 31, 2008".

Answer 1

1. You complete an application so the organization with which you want to volunteer can know who you are, what you can do and can check your references.   Depending in the responsibilities of your volunteer job it may be important to know for ex that you do not have a history of stealing,that you have not abused animals,or that you are not known to be a gossip, etc.

2.  That depends on who "They" are i.e.whose community service requirement you are trying to fullfill.   Generally however they would expect you to get started on your volunteering in time to get the hours completed in a timely manner. Starting late would maybe be an excuse only if you just moved to the school area or joined the group which requires the hours. You should ask them how their yr runs.  If you want to you can probably get it done.   I will always remember a young man who had 48 hrs of community service to do or 48 hrs to serve in jail.    On Dec 23 he still had not started and his PO told him he was going to jail on the 26th unless they were done.   He appealed to our program director and worked 48 straight hrs (no sleep) on our community Christmas dinner and the program director or one of his assistants took a picture of him standing in front of the clock every hr on the hr.   He was one totally exhausted fellow when the clean up after the dinner was done but he came back the next yr to help even tho it wasn't required.  It was great to see him and know that he is doing well.