Volunteer Hours for Florida Bright Futures Scholarships & Other Programs
Volunteer hours, in-person, remote, and self-paced service learning opportunities for individual students, small teams of 2-4 students, or larger groups!
Florida Bright Futures volunteer hours opportunities can involve projects that directly support the needs of leukemia patients and families (such as organizing blood drives, registration campaigns for the National Marrow Donor Program, or a Meal Train for families impacted by leukemia), but may also involve fundraising in support of our ongoing mission of ending leukemia while supporting patients and families.
Our volunteer opportunities for Bright Futures can be performed by students anywhere in the State, and can be designed around your lifestyle, location, and interests.
Bright Futures volunteer projects can be fully self-paced and self-directed, and much of the volunteer (especially preparation and reflection) work can often be done from anywhere.
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Florida Bright Futures Volunteer Hour Requirements
The volunteer hour requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program vary based on the specific award level a student is seeking.
To qualify for the Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) award, a student must complete 100 volunteer service hours.
For the Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) award, the requirement is 75 volunteer service hours.
For the Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV) and Gold Seal CAPE Scholars (GSC) awards, the requirement is 30 volunteer service hours (though this will increase to 75 hours for students who entered 9th grade in the 2024-2025 school year or later).
The state of Florida defines eligible service as activities that are altruistic, uncompensated, and benefit the community or a special population.
It is crucial to understand that your school district has the final approval, and you should always get pre-approval from your guidance counselor before starting an activity.
Here is a breakdown of what generally counts and what is typically excluded by Florida Bright Futures for volunteer hours:
Volunteer Hours that Do Count Towards Florida Bright Futures
- Volunteering at a food pantry, animal shelter, hospice, hospital, or other charity (such as us!)
- Volunteering for a civic organization, government agency, candidate for public office, or organizing a voter registration drive.
- Tutoring or mentoring younger students at a school, library, or similar organization like Big Brothers Big Sisters or the YMCA.
- Working with religious organization or other groups such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Goodwill, or Habitat for Humanity on projects that benefit the community, such as soup kitchens, community clean-ups, mission trips, or fundraisers.
- Organizing a community blood drive or awareness/registration campaign for organizations such as OneBlood, Blood Cancer United, or the National Marrow Donor Program.
Volunteer Hours that Don’t Count Towards Florida Bright Futures
- Family-related activities or service to or for any family member. This includes working at a parent’s business for free.
- Court-mandated community service hours.
- In-home activities that are not verified by an outside, unrelated adult (such as fostering animals at home, or hosting an exchange student).
- Religious activities that only benefit your church or congregation.
- Donations: Giving blood, or donating clothes or money.
Blood & Money: Florida Bright Futures Volunteer Projects
Volunteer opportunities to fit your needs!
Organizing Blood Donations or Blood Drives
Many leukemia patients become dependent on blood transfusions at some point during treatment. While simply donating blood does not count towards Florida Bright Futures volunteer hours, volunteering at a local blood bank or organizing and hosting community blood drives is a great way to get your Bright Futures volunteer hours while also helping your community and supporting our mission!
Supporting the National Marrow Donor Program
Bone marrow or stem cell transplants are the only chance at a cure for many leukemia patients, and patients are often dependent on the National Marrow Donor Program (formerly Be The Match) to find a matching stem cell donor. Supporting the donor by organizing a campaign to increase donor registrations literally saves lives, while also supporting our mission of helping leukemia patients and families.
Organizing Fundraisers or other Charity Events
There are countless ways you can plan, organize, and host fundraising activities for charitable organizations. We will happily assist you with the planning, logistics, marketing, accounting, and follow-up activities required for a successful fundraiser. Fundraisers can be tailored to your lifestyle, location, and personal interests, making them a fun and exciting way to get your Bright Futures volunteer hours!
Personalized Service Learning Projects
We would be thrilled to help you develop a personalized service learning project that meets the volunteer hour requirements for your Florida Bright Futures scholarship level (or any other required community service). Service-learning projects involve students actively participating in community service projects that address a real need, and then reflecting on the experience to deepen their understanding of both the subject matter and the community. Download our free service learning e-book here!