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The Triangle Nonprofit & Volunteer Leadership Center
The Triangle Nonprofit & Volunteer Leadership Center
PAGE UPDATED 10/8/2024
The Award submission deadline has been extended to October 14!
The Mayor’s Award gives Triangle area students the opportunity to learn and serve their community in a meaningful way. Students who complete the required number of volunteer hours at area nonprofits during summer break are recognized by the Mayor at a ceremony in the fall. Annually, our students serve more than 30,000 hours of community service throughout the Triangle Area through the Mayor’s Award!
You will need the following information to complete the application.
Other Important things to keep in mind:
Register by clicking on “Apply Now” below
VERY IMPORTANT!
Be sure to always keep a copy of all your volunteer timesheet hours! If these are lost in the mail or are not received in email, you will need a copy to verify your hours.
(Also, the center does not retain volunteer time sheets from year-to year. If you need these for other purposes you will need to keep a copy for your own records..)
$50 fee
If your student is registering for both the Mayor’s Award and the Commissioners’ Award, there is a special package pricing of $75 for both saving you over 15%
Payment
Pay online here for Mayor’s Award
Payments can be made online or by check.
Paying by check, please make checks out to: The Triangle Nonprofit & Volunteer Leadership Center (TNVLC) With “Mayor’s Award” in the memo line. Mail To PO Box 3374, Durham, NC 27702.
Award Benefits
Financial Assistance
$50 fee
If your student is registering for both the Mayor’s Award and the Commissioners’ Award, there is a special package pricing of $75 for both saving you over 15%
NO STUDENT WILL BE TURNED AWAY FOR INABILITY TO PAY.
The Volunteer Center believes strongly in supporting student volunteers. Financial Aid is available.
Essay Contest
As you are finishing up with volunteering, consider entering the Mayor’s Award essay contest. The theme is the benefits of volunteering, and/or why it is important to be active in your community. The essay should be 3-5 pages double spaced, with a font no larger than 12 point. Give your essay an original title. Use your summer experience, other volunteering, and your own ideas to talk about the importance of volunteering. The winning essay will be posted on our website. The deadline for the essay is October 14, so you may turn it in with your application, or you may turn it in early. If you choose to e-mail your essay, send it to adrienne@tnvlc.onmicrosoft.com.
The Mayor’s Award program provides the opportunity for students to volunteer at one of our registered non-profits in the Triangle area during the summer months. Students giving 40 or more hours of service with positive evaluations are eligible to win the Mayor’s Award. Each year between 300-400 students apply for this program.
Students who are 12 (or turn 12 by June 1) to 18 years of age. Please note that some nonprofits have age minimums and may require an adult to be present if this minimum is not met. Generally there are fewer opportunities for students under age 14.
Our online volunteer matching database, HandsOnTriangle.org has hundreds of volunteer opportunities. You can also search “Mayor’s Award” on HandsOnTriangle.org to search for those that have been specifically identified (though any opportunity listed is eligible). Students can also contact nonprofits and select opportunities that may not be listed in HandsON. There are thousands of nonprofits throughout the Triangle providing students with plenty of ways to find an opportunity to volunteer.
You can serve at several different organizations, as long as your hours add up to the required minimum. You must maintain a timesheet and your supervisor will need to approve your hours and complete an evaluation form. Those documents are included in the Service Packet above.
We encourage students to take leadership in locating a volunteer opportunity. If you have contacted several agencies and they are unable to find a placement for you, consider creating an opportunity with another agency. It is common to have to contact numerous groups before finding a match. If you have contacted more than 5 agencies and cannot find a match, e-mail the names of the agencies that you have contacted, your name and age, city, and volunteer interests to adrienne@thevolunteercenter.org and we will assist you in locating an opportunity.
Hours from any certified nonprofit will be recognized.
Click Here to see if an organization is registered with us.
If the nonprofit is not registered with us, please use this database to check if it is a certified 501c3 Nonprofit.
Based on the email address you provide in the application form to receive notifications, you will receive a thank you notification after completing the form. This notification will have the link to the supervisors evaluation form, please send it to each of your supervisors so they can complete and submit in a timely manner.
Your hours must be completed by the start of the first day of school. This varies between schools.
