What is a Community Service Award? And How Do I Present One?

Holly Lynne McKinley Schmidt, National Chair, Community Service Awards Committee

May 7, 2021

Today’s DAR knows the value of community service and it is an honor to share the purpose of the Community Service Awards committee in this guest blog!

The DAR Community Service Awards Committee encourages chapters and state societies to present a DAR Community Service Award to those who perform voluntary community service on a local level. Chapters may be authorized to present up to two awards per calendar year, to individuals or teams. Your State Chair authorizes these award presentations. Read about how to nominate an individual below – but first a question: What is a DAR Community Service Award?

The DAR Community Service Award is a non-competitive award consisting of a certificate and pin. Community Service Awards may be presented for cultural, educational, humanitarian, patriotic, historic, citizenship, environmental, or conservation service activities. There is no age or length of service requirement for this award, but the service is voluntary and unpaid. The service should be recent and documented through newspaper articles, social media references, or in letters of recommendation.

Award recipients reflect the needs of our communities. The honored volunteers provided service in a wide spectrum of areas where they filled a need for people, animals, or our environment. 2020 award nominations saw a significant increase in honoring service that supported healthcare workers and essential personnel. Volunteers sewed masks or coordinated food collections for food pantries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic situations that impacted local communities.

There were hundreds upon hundreds of awards presented this year, in fact, 513 award presentations were reported in this year’s State Chair reports! Thank you to all the chapter chairs and state chairs who keep encouraging chapters to “Do Your Two” presentations per year and recognize these deserving recipients!

These categories of volunteers are just some examples that your chapter could use to consider when planning to present a CSA:

Caretakers of historic places, cemeteries, and parks
Library, Museum, Hospital, Hospice, and Administrative Volunteers
Mask and PPE creators/collectors or administrative support to essential personnel during the height of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
Food bank collections, organizers, and hot meal preparers
Coordinators of charity fundraisers, special community activities, exhibits, summer camps,
Animal welfare volunteers at zoos, shelters, humane societies, and with rescue organizations
Pro-Bono Assistance (Grant Writing, Event Planning, Flowers, Dental Exams, handicap ramp construction)
Domestic Violence and Child Abuse counselors
Natural Disaster responders, volunteers, support, donation collection coordinators
Backpack Buddies / Feeding Children at schools
Prison Ministry and Reentry Volunteers
Youth Sports Program volunteers
Fire Safety Educators
Rotary, Lions, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, YMCA Volunteers
Girl Scout Troop Leaders, Boy Scout Scoutmasters
Wreaths Across America Coordinators and Participants

To nominate a recipient of a DAR Community Service Award, complete and submit the nomination form found on the CSA Committee Webpage along with documentation of the nominee’s service to your state chair. Once approved, your state chair will provide an electronic approval which you must attach during the ordering process from the DAR Store. State Chairs will inform the Division Vice Chair and National Chair of approved awards.

If your chapter presented awards in past years, you may note that this process is a little different. To comply with state sales tax requirements and to address several requests for electronic submission format, the process for ordering CSAs was changed in December 2020. Please review the instructions in the upcoming NIP and on the Community Service Award webpage.

During your presentations, please take pictures and share your recipient’s story of service with local newspapers or social media outlets. Use the presentation time to share DAR’s message as a service organization! At a nominal cost, presenting a Community Service Award will provide future goodwill and public relations. Where possible, focus your award presentation on the recipient by presenting the award in front of their friends and colleagues. This will also let you share information about DAR’s service mission and membership.

State Chairs are ready for your nominations and your National Chair and Division Vice Chairs are ready to answer questions! Get ready to Do Your Two!

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