All North Atlanta students must have service hours to graduate. Service hours are not only important for graduation but they are also a great way to show involvement in one’s community. North Atlanta has recently switched to the app MyVoluntier, located in MyBackpack, as a way to earn and log service hours.
Many students have long struggled to find ways to acquire their service hours. Through the MyVoluntier app, they can find many opportunities throughout the area to reach out to the community. The app not only helps you find service opportunities, but it also logs the hours for students. MyVoluntier provides different ways for students to reach out within the school and the Atlanta Public Schools district. One student, sophomore Bailey Lynch, appreciates the MyVoluntier app. She explained how it keeps her organized and aware of her amount of service hours. It helps her stay on track for graduation hours as she goes through her years at North Atlanta. The app also has a section with suggestions for service events that are based on previous events you have attended. “It opened many opportunities for me to reach out to the community in a new way,” she said.
While MyVoluntier has numerous benefits and options, some students find that logging hours from outside organizations can be difficult and time-consuming. If students complete service hours through outside organizations, the difficulty of these tasks makes completing service hours much more difficult. To log hours not shown on MyVoluntier requires numerous steps. The student must get an authorized document from the organization including name, phone number, address, dates, hours of service, total hours of service completed, description of tasks completed, and a letter signed by the organizer. After this, the document submitted must be approved by the school counselor and then manually logged into MyVoluntier. Another student, Tessa Rimer, feels that the app is beneficial, but finds it difficult to log different hours. “The hours have to get approved, and if so it still can take a few days to a few weeks before they are completely logged,” she said. “Overall, the process is very tedious.”
The implementation of the MyVoluntier app at North Atlanta has greatly benefited students in their acquisition of service hours. The app provides a convenient and organized platform for students to find service opportunities within the community. However, some students have needed help when logging hours from outside organizations, as it requires additional steps and approval. Overall, the MyVoluntier app has proven to be a valuable tool for students but is not without its challenges.
