Throughout high school, some students choose to participate in the Silver Cord Program.

The Silver Cord program recognizes students who have volunteered 150 hours or more through the course of high school. At graduation, students are recognized and wear a silver cord during the ceremony.

Junior Ashlyn Lamb began completing hours in the spring of her freshman year.

“I wanted to help give back to the community and make a difference. I also want to be able to have a silver cord when I graduate, it’s a big goal of mine,” said Lamb.

Lamb recommends underclassmen start completing volunteer hours if they have not started. Lamb believes that volunteering is important when getting involved in your community and it helps set you apart from others for job or college applications.

The Silver Cord coordinator Valerie Powell recommends that if students don’t know where to start, they can look at the opportunities listed on the school’s website, under the Silver Cord page.

“Students should volunteer wherever they feel comfortable. The most popular volunteer activities are Kids Cafe in the summer, church, and the ARL,” said Powell.

Over the summer, Lamb volunteered at the Botanical Gardens of Des Moines and recommends that others volunteer there.

“The volunteer coordinators there are absolutely amazing and extremely helpful. They also offer volunteers a free membership so you can visit whenever and attend events,” said Lamb.

Before volunteering, students should print out a silver cord form that can be found online. Students must take it with them while volunteering because they need a signature from a person in charge of the event. Once students complete their service hours and fill the form out Powell recommends they turn the form in soon after.

“We prefer it to be turned in as soon as possible following the completion of the event in case there are any questions, but students do have until the end of each semester to turn in forms for hours earned that semester,” said Powell.