Volunteer Service Hours Program
Volunteering in our communities builds valuable relationships, nurtures social connections, promotes employee mental health and well-being, strengthens skills, contributes to a desirable workplace culture, increases employee retention, and supports university values and goals.
We are pleased to announce the introduction of the Volunteer Service Hours (VSH) program at Colorado State University. This new program was developed by the Administrative Professional Council and allows employees up to 8 hours paid administrative leave per fiscal year to volunteer at university designated organizations.
Program Overview
Eligible employees will receive up to 8 hours of paid administrative leave (prorated based on full-time equivalent) for volunteer service each fiscal year to be used at one or more of the organizations designated by the university. Leave must be pre-approved by your supervisor, utilization of hours is optional, unused hours expire at the end of the fiscal year and are not eligible for payout in lieu of time observed. Employees may use the hours to volunteer in a single day or over multiple days. VSH administrative leave is processed within the department.
Eligibility Requirements
State classified, administrative professional, research, post-doctoral fellows, graduate assistants and faculty members are eligible to participate. Employees working on a sponsored research program can also participate if they meet the previously stated requirements and are not paid on a fringe 2 rate.
Hourly employees are not eligible to participate in the program including non-student/temporary hourly, student, administrative professional hourly, and state classified hourly employees.
CEMML (Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands) employees are funded by and directly support the Department of Defense; CEMML workforce will not participate in this program.
Where can I volunteer?
VSH paid administrative leave can only be used at places approved and designated by the university. Learn more about these organizations below, including links to sign up to volunteer.
At Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County, our mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. We do this by providing comprehensive after-school & summer programming that includes meals, positive youth development programming, and mentoring for youth ages 6-18 at 15 sites across Larimer County. Volunteers can support our Club youth by becoming a mentor, facilitating or supporting an activity with a group of youth, showcasing good sportsmanship by playing games with youth, tutoring youth with their reading or math needs, supporting our fundraising efforts at a fundraising event, and much more!
You could make a difference in the lives of Weld County Youth. Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County strives to provide a safe & collaborative environment for our members to thrive. Our mission is to inspire & enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring & responsible citizens. We are thankful for any volunteers in our community that are passionate about our mission & vision!
In Eaton School District, “Our Business is Children” and we believe every student can grow and achieve to their full potential. We have opportunities for you to read with students, help students with math problems, visit during a career fair and share your experiences in your career, and much more. If interested in volunteering please reach out to any of our schools or the district office.
At the Food Bank for Larimer County, we believe no one should be hungry. Our dream is to deliver health, hope and humanity to stabilize the lives of our clients and build a vibrant community. We do this through a variety of avenues including our volunteer opportunities at our Fresh Food Shares in both Fort Collins and Loveland which operate like a grocery store for our clients to shop out of. We also host a number of volunteer opportunities at our Main Warehouse in Loveland that houses our Community Kitchen and is where our agency partners shop for their clients.
Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that everyone should have a safe, stable place to live in dignity. Habitat brings people together to build homes, community, and hope by leveraging community partnerships with organizations and individuals. We partner with families earning 45-80% of the area median income to build and buy their own home. Volunteer opportunities include building on the construction site, supporting the ReStore (a thrift store that serves as a fundraising enterprise), helping at special events, and getting involved with other special projects.
Greeley-Evans School District 6 serves more than 23,000 students in the communities of Greeley and Evans, Colorado with 29 district-operated schools and six charter schools. The school district engages, empowers, and inspires today’s students in partnership with families and communities to succeed in tomorrow’s world. Each District 6 school collaborates with volunteers differently to address their unique needs; however, general volunteer duties can include classroom assistance, field trip chaperone, tutoring/mentoring, library support, lunchroom support and more.
Greeley-Weld Habitat for Humanity, (GWHFH) brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope our mission is to work in partnership with community partners and families in need to build safe and affordable homes and communities. GWHFH has built over 200 homes and served over 900 individuals in Weld County, stabilizing them through affordable homeownership since our founding in 1987. Our organization serves our community’s most economically marginalized families by partnering with those who earn as little as 30% of the area median income in Weld County. No one lives in dignity until we all do, and we full-heartedly believe that affordable homeownership is the catalyst for financial stability and for generational wealth. Our organization provides 3 main volunteering opportunities, joining us for a Build at our Mission Homestead, volunteering at the ReStore, or volunteering with one of our committees.
NOCO Humane Society is an independent nonprofit working to further the compassionate, safe, and responsible relationship between animals and people. The region’s largest open-admission shelter, NOCO Humane Society believes that all animals deserve a safe place to go for shelter and care, regardless of breed, age, temperament, or medical condition. Caring for more than 7,000 animals each year requires a broad community of support, including single-day Community Service Volunteers. Your support as a Community Service Volunteer helps to maintain the cleanliness of the shelter, ensuring a positive experience for potential adopters, and better outcomes for pets in northern Colorado!
Loveland Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope. We partner with families to provide a hand-up, not a handout, so they can own their own home and pay an affordable mortgage. Volunteers play an essential role at our organization year-round; construction volunteers help us directly build the homes from start to finish, and ReStore volunteers help us sort and organize donations whose sales directly support our building costs. No prior experience is required—just the excitement to make a difference!
Volunteers serve in a variety of critical and impactful roles in the Poudre School District. Most volunteer opportunities are coordinated by individual school sites and can range from chaperoning field trips, supporting special events, and academic support/tutoring. Larger, centrally coordinated volunteer opportunities like vision and hearing screenings and school supply donation drives occur several times through the course of the year as well.
Thompson School District is the 17th largest school district in Colorado, encompassing 362 square miles and serving approximately 15,000 students. The district’s territory includes Loveland and Berthoud, plus sections of Fort Collins, Windsor, Johnstown, and unincorporated land in Larimer, Weld, and Boulder counties. TSD serves students in Pre-K through 12th grade with fourteen school-based preschool programs, a dedicated preschool building, three Pre-K-8 schools, sixteen elementary schools, four middle schools, five high schools, two charter schools, and one career campus. Teachers and administrators collaborate with families and community partners to ensure that students are college, career, and community ready.
Join United Way in building a better Weld County! We work to connect volunteers to meaningful volunteer opportunities in our community. On-going volunteer opportunities include the Good Neighbor Clean-up and Covering Weld Diaper Bank. Join us to learn more about the needs of our most vulnerable community members.
Weld Food Bank understands the importance of volunteers. The men and women who give their time to help in our warehouse, deliver food to seniors, hand out food at a Mobile Food Pantry, and do countless other acts of kindness do so because they have a heart for what we do. Our success is dependent upon those individuals. We invite you to consider volunteering at Weld Food Bank.
The Weld RE-4 School District serves over 8,000 students across Windsor, Severance, and West Greeley. In classrooms across our district, our students are honing the skills to become global citizens who are prepared to thrive in college and/or their future careers. Volunteer needs vary from school to school, ranging from field trip chaperones to one-on-one student assistance, and vision/hearing screenings to parent committees. Our school community benefits from our volunteer corps through individualized support, expanded learning opportunities, and caring mentors.
Weld RE-5J School District, together with our community and stakeholders, nurtures all children to reach their full potential academically, socially and emotionally in a safe and challenging environment. Our school district places a strong emphasis on educating the whole child and inspiring our students to be lifelong learners. With highly-trained teachers and staff, an engaged parent community and a focus on ensuring all students have the knowledge and skills to achieve the highest levels through postsecondary readiness, technology, activities and programs, talented staff and a strong community. Several volunteer opportunities are available in each of our schools in Johnstown and Milliken.
Weld Re-9 School District serves the communities of Ault, Pierce, Nunn and Carr as well as the surrounding communities. With approximately 950 students in our schools, we offer a dedicated staff combined with a supportive community to help us in our quest to “Build Excellence.” Volunteers can spend time working with students, teachers, and staff in one of our three schools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Employees may use the hours to volunteer in a single day or over multiple days. Hours may be used at one or more organizations designated by the university.
No. Utilization of hours is optional, and unused hours expire at the end of the fiscal year and are not eligible for payout in lieu of time observed.
Leave must be pre–approved by your supervisor. The job code for VSH in TimeClock Plus is a special leave type that will be entered by your department’s HR representative.
Please complete this form to submit your organization suggestions. The list of organizations designated by the university will be reviewed annually by HR.
The VSH Program is being piloted regionally. Employees outside of Northern Colorado can contact organizations designated by the university to see if there are volunteer opportunities that can be completed remotely. Expansion of the program beyond Northern Colorado will be reviewed after the pilot year.
No. The Volunteer Service Hours program is separate from Volunteer in Public Schools. Employees can use both the eight hours each fiscal year for VSH and five hours a month for VIPS.