President's Voluntary Service Award

Originally created by President George W. Bush, the Presidential Voluntary Service Award ("PVSA") aims to recognize the best of the American spirit and encourages everyone to increase the amount of community/volunteer service in their life. Awards are given for several age groups and each level corresponds to a different number of service hours within a 12 month period. Levels include bronze, silver, gold and the highest honor, the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Award Criteria:

• Recipients must be United States citizens or lawfully admitted permanent residents of the United States

• Awards are issued for service hours served within a 12-month period or over the course of a lifetime.

• Awards are issued for volunteer service only. Additional levels of participation with the organization, i.e. charitable support, are not a factor considered for the award.

• Court-ordered community service does not qualify for the award.

• Awards are issued by approved Certifying Organizations.

• Service must be with an organization that is legally established in the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or one of the territories.

EqOpTech Inc. is proud to serve as a certifying organization for the President's Volunteer Service Award. We only provide certification for our own volunteer intern at EqOpTech. To join or volunteer at EqOpTech, please apply via the google form here. 

To earn the Presidential Service Awards:

• Apply to join EqOpTech here

• Start logging individual volunteer hours for EqOpTech

• Please submit the signed application package here

• Obtain signatures from EqOpTech validators

• Email EqOpTech validation reports by December 31st

For more information on hours requirements, visit the President's Volunteer Service Award webpage or e-mail eqoptech@gmail.com.

U.S. Congressional Award

Congress established the Congressional Award in 1979 to recognize initiative, service, and achievement in young people. The enabling legislation (Public Law 96-114, The Congressional Award Act) established the Congressional Award as a private public partnership. The bill was originally signed into law by President Jimmy Carter. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have signed continuing legislation.  

The four program areas are:

• Voluntary Public Service

• Personal Development

• Physical Fitness

• Expedition/Exploration

To earn the awards:

• Register at www.congressionalaward.org

• Choose an advisor

• Set goals

• Work towards goals

• Approvals

• Earn Awards (Bronze, Silver, and Gold Certificate and a Bronze, Silver and Gold Medal)

The minimum age to register is 13.5 and goals must be achieved by your 24th birthday. 

EqOpTech Inc. management team is proud to act as Congressional Award advisor(s) to help set goals and provide guidance along the way. For more information on age and hours requirements, visit the Congressional Award webpage. After reviewing the website requirement, you may contact eqoptech@gmail.com for further questions.

Eagle Service Project & Gold Award - Scouting

EqOpTech proudly sponsors Community Service Project(s) for

• Boy Scouts Eagle Service Project and

• Gold Award for Girl Scouts.

Jefferson Awards for Public Service

Jefferson award celebrates and recognizes Bay Area unsung hero that do outstanding community service work via media partner CBS KPIX 5.

Visit EqOpTech segment here.

Visit 2018 Jefferson Award presentation ceremony here.

George H.W. Bush Daily Points of Light Award is a program established by President George H.W. Bush during his presidency to spotlight volunteers in the U.S., and it has grown into a bipartisan organization that promotes and mobilizes volunteerism.

Silicon Valley Teen Helps Bridge Digital Divide with Equal Access to Technology, read his story here. 

EqOpTech Leadership Award

A strong leader demonstrates a unique ability to guide and inspire others to learn, participate and pursue excellence.

• Team player, provide leadership to other volunteers

• Inspires other volunteers to join in on the efforts

• Demonstrates great creativity and passion to develop and implement programs

• Strong commitment to success and project excellence

• Collaborate with community leaders to pursue excellence in joint projects

• Effectively communicates and collaborate with all members and volunteers

• Contributes to the success of technology initiatives

EqOpTech Technology Award

An innovative individual demonstrates an outstanding creativity, technical knowledge and excellent problem solving skills.

• Actively seeks ways to advance, improve and innovate

• Proactively identifies creative and fresh ways to do things differently

• Able to problem solve/troubleshoot on major problems

• A reliable person who is willing to mentor, motivate, and transfer knowledge to others

• Implements changes in a positive and collaborative manner

• Demonstrates ability to partner with others in the organization to pursue excellence and success

Eligibility:

To apply, you must be:

• High school student volunteer leader(s) at EqOpTech

• Tech projects to promote equal access to technology for education

Application Process: 

• Submit a 500 word (maximum) essay describing your project here

• Submit one letter of recommendation to contact@eqoptech.org, optional

Prizes:

The winning entries for each category of the awards will win a cash scholarship prize, trophy and certificate.

Winners:

Kevin Gao, EqOpTech Leadership Award, 2018

Daniel Lim, EqOpTech Leadership Award, 2018

Randall Lowe, EqOpTech Technology Award, 2016

David Ding, EqOpTech Leadership Award, 2016

Sponsor:

EqOpTech Leadership and Technology Award is sponsored by the Lee Family Trust.