Mercy High School Service Program
“God does not look at the action but at the spirit motivating it.”
Venerable Catherine McAuley
Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, dedicated her life
to working with those less fortunate than her.
In honor of and in emulation of Mother Catherine McAuley, the service program at Mercy encourages students:
- To go into the various local communities to help those who are in need: the elderly, the poor, the abused, the homeless and the disabled.
- To make volunteerism part of their ongoing lifestyle.Their individual service not only helps transform society, but it also enriches and nourishes their own spirits.
- To realize that community service at Mercy is a fundamental part of being Christian and is deeply rooted in the Gospel tradition.
- To complete service that corresponds to the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy
Parental/Guardian Involvement
Parents and guardians of Freshwomen and Sophomores are strongly encouraged to assist their daughters in choosing suitable areas of service which “serve the poor and needy members of society” in a way that liberates them and calls forth their full potential.As parents/guardians, your involvement in monitoring your daughter’s outreach activities is of great importance.
Mercy High School Community Service Awards
The Mother Frances Ward Service to Others Award
In honor of Mother Frances Ward, the American Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, this award is presented each year to a Freshwoman, Sophomore and Junior who has completed the highest number of documented service hours for that year.
The Catherine McAuley Compassionate Service Award
This award is presented to a senior at Baccalaureate who has completed the highest number of documented hours accumulated over her four years at Mercy.
The Mercy Community Service Graduation Requirement
“Let charity be our badge of honor.”
Venerable Catherine McAuley
HOW MANY SERVICE HOURS ARE REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION?
- The Class of 2024 is required to complete 75 hours of verified and approved service hours for graduation. This is still due to the COVID pandemic. Of course, students are encouraged to engage in more service until graduation.
- Classes of 2025, 2026, and 2027 are required to complete One Hundred (100) hours of submitted, verified, and approved service hours for graduation.
- After graduation from 8th grade, the incoming Freshwomen may begin to accrue hours for Mercy’s service requirement. Students record information all the information needed to record these hours when they enter Mercy in September. You will see this link near the end of these instructions.
- Hours may be completed after school in the community, on weekends, during vacation breaks, and at Mercy.
Guidelines for transfer students: - If you transfer to Mercy as a Sophomore, you are required to complete seventy-five (75) hours for graduation.
- If you transfer to Mercy as a Junior, you are required to have fifty (50) hours for graduation.
- If you should transfer in as a Senior, you will need to meet with Ms. Derbacher in Campus Ministry to discuss your graduation requirement.
- Note: As a transfer to Mercy, you may add service hours that you have performed since your 8th grade graduation. You will meet with Ms. Derbacher to review your hours and receive instructions on how to enter your hours into the X2VOL tracking system.
ARE THERE A NUMBER OF SERVICE HOURS THAT SHOULD BE COMPLETED EACH YEAR?
- The Freshwomen, Sophomores and Juniors are encouraged to perform and document a minimum of twenty-five (25) hours for approval their first three years. This is so no student falls behind putting them in jeopardy of not graduating. Failure to do so could result in a student not being able to participate in extracurricular activities. Also, a student’s schedule for the next year may also be withheld due to the lack of required minimum service hours.
- Service can be completed either as a one-time service requirement (e.g., Mission Trip, CIT work at a camp) or cumulatively through Freshwomen, Sophomore and Junior years.
- Before the end of each school year, students at risk will be required to meet with their Theology teacher and the Campus Minister stating what service will be completed during the summer for the student to be eligible to enter into the next grade level.
HOW CAN I FIND OUT ABOUT DIFFERENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES?
- Different service opportunities are posted online through Mercy’s service documentation platform, x2VOL.
- Theology teachers read and post flyers stating different service opportunities that come to the school through Campus Ministry.
- Ms. Derbacher, Campus Minister, posts all requests for volunteers in x2VOL.
- Service opportunities are also published in the written daily announcements and on the announcement board in the cafeteria.
Ms. Derbacher, Campus Minister, is available for questions concerning the program. You can contact her by email at aderbacher@mercyhigh.com or go and visit her in the Campus Ministry Office.
HOW DO I SUBMIT MY HOURS?
Students are to sign in through Naviance: https://student.naviance.com/mhsct
then do the following:
Login using the following process:
Username: This is always your student Mercy email address. Personal emails may not be used.
PASSWORD:
This is a password of your own choosing. If you forget your password, you need to hit “Forgot Password” and change it. If you change your PW, you must remove the saved PW, or you will not be able to change the password.
Then you come to the Home Page of Naviance. Look at the headings at the top of the page and choose “Career” and x2VOL is listed there.
Incoming Freshwomen and Transfers are not able to register or log in to x2VOL prior to the start of school. We will be registering you into your x2VOL account and training you at the beginning of the school year. We will work with you to complete this process. We suggest that you download and print out the Service Record Sheet to keep a record of service done in the summer. Please bring this with you at the beginning of the school year.
THE PROCESS FOR VERIFICATION AND APPROVAL OF SERVICE HOURS IN x2VOL
- When a student enters her service hours into x2VOL she provides the email of the person who will verify her hours. If the person does not have an email, please fill in their telephone number and use Campus Minister’s email address. aderbacher@mercyhigh.com. Students should be aware that sometimes the email that is sent to the verifiers may end up in their Spam box unknowingly.
- It is the responsibility of the student to contact the verifier within four weeks to remind him or her to complete the verification process.
Mercy will give the “verifiers” approximately one month to verify the hours submitted by the student. If the individuals have not verified the hours by then, the Theology teacher or Campus Minister will complete the verification process. For example, if you submitted 20 hours for verification on 9/20, your teacher or Campus Minister will wait until 10/20 and if they have not been verified, they will verify and approve. The student should notify her Theology teacher that she has not heard from the person supposedly verifying her hours.
MULTIPLE HOURS FOR THE SAME OR RECURRING PROJECT
- If you conduct a repeated number of hours for the same project (for example, “Altar serving, choir”) you do not have to submit separate dates and hours. Simply submit the last date of service and the total number of hours you completed. You should make sure that you hit the recurring button when recording the first set of hours.
- Seniors, Juniors and Sophomores should continue to submit hours for certification right through the summer. Don’t wait for the Fall! Freshwomen and Transfers will submit theirs in the Fall!
SERVICE IDEAS
Freshwomen and Sophomores may find it easier to complete some of their service at Mercy or at their place of worship. Juniors and Seniors at non-profits and organizations outside of Mercy.
Service in the Community:
- Food drives outside of Mercy
- Soup Kitchens
- Junior Counselors at vacation bible schools, swim camps, recreation and sport camps, etc.
- Animal shelters
- Hospital volunteer and visiting nursing homes
- Assist at elementary, preschool and middle schools
- Libraries and museums
- Help at the Red Cross, Leukemia Society, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, etc.
- Special Olympics
- After school programs
- Helping at service agencies
- Church related service: religious education assistant, lector, altar server, choir member, St. Vincent de Paul helper, Confirmation retreat team member, usher, helping at the parish school, assisting at the parish fair, etc.
- After school special projects
- Literacy programs
- Special projects for neighbors in need
- Assisting the elderly
- Environment Issues
- Service at Mercy
- MYARC volunteer
- Mercy Golf Classic volunteer
- Yellow Rose Auction volunteer
- Report Card Night Guide
- Mini Class Night Guide
- Sport Team Manager – Athletic Department volunteer - Mr. Kohs
- Library volunteer
- School Counseling Volunteer
- Assisting faculty and staff with class projects
- Alumnae/Development Office volunteer
- Tutoring
- Open House
- Bookstore
- IMPORTANT: If you are not sure about the acceptability of the type of service you are about to begin, please make sure that you check with your Theology teacher to make sure that it will count towards service hours. There are always exceptions to the rule.
Ms. Derbacher is always available in the Campus Ministry Office or through email at aderbacher@mercyhigh.com if you have any questions or concerns.
“A good beginning is of great importance.”
Mother Catherine McAuley
USE THE CORPORAL AND SPIRITUAL
WORKS OF MERCY
TO HELP YOU FIND
DIFFERENT VOLUNTEER SERVICES
