By

Executive Committee
ATYHS
Last updated July 1, 2015

Apex Texas
Youth Honor
Society
Members
Handbook

CONTENTS
About...............................................................................................................................................................................2
Mission Statement...........................................................................................................................................................2
Membership....................................................................................................................................................................2
Registration.................................................................................................................................................................2
Tri-Annual Terms........................................................................................................................................................2
10-Hour Requirement.............................................................................................................................................2
Student Representatives..............................................................................................................................................3
Executive committee (Officers)..................................................................................................................................3
Community Service........................................................................................................................................................3
Service Projects...........................................................................................................................................................3
Volunteer Sign-up...................................................................................................................................................3
Volunteer Absence..................................................................................................................................................3
Special Circumstances............................................................................................................................................4
Fundraising Projects....................................................................................................................................................4
Presidents Volunteer Service Award..............................................................................................................................4
Criteria....................................................................................................................................................................5
Eligibility................................................................................................................................................................5

ABOUT
Apex Texas Youth Honor Society (ATYHS), a non-profit organization located in Plano, TX, is aimed at motivating
students to give back to their communities.

MISSION STATEMENT
To enlighten minds and compassionate spirits of young adults, promote strong ethics, and strengthen the
community

MEMBERSHIP
ATYHS invites students 6th through 12th grade in the Collin County area to join and participate.

REGISTRATION
Member registration is open all year long to promote community service opportunities to students who are interested
in giving back to the community.
Students must register through our online ATYHS Member Registration form that is linked in our ATYHS google
plus community. Students should register with their parents so that accurate information is provided.
Upon registration, the student is voluntarily agreeing to fulfill membership requirements and understands that failure
to do so will result in member deactivation.
Member registration fee is $10, and ATYHS t-shirts are $10 each. Registration and t-shirt fees will be collected at
member meetings following registration.

TRI-ANNUAL TERMS
ATYHS has 3 terms each year that are roughly modeled after the semesters in a school year.

Spring Term: January 1st - April 30th

Summer Term: May 1st - August 31st
Fall Term: September 1st - December 31st

New members can register and join our organization anytime during the year. However, if a member registers online
and has already missed 70% or more of the days in that term, they will not be required to meet the 10 hour
requirement for that term. Anyone missing less than 70% of the days will still be required to fulfill the 10 hour
requirement.

10-HOUR REQUIREMENT
Members must have a minimum 10 hours of community service, and within the 10 hours, members must have at
least 1 hour of ATYHS service projects by the end of each term in order to remain an active member. Members that

are unable to meet this requirement will be deactivated. Deactivated members will need to sit out a term before
completing registration again.
Hours start accumulating immediately after the member registers. Any past service hours accumulated prior to
registration will not count towards the minimum 10 hours for the term. However, past hours within the last year can
count towards the President's Volunteer Service Award after they are approved by the Executive Committee.

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES (STUDENT REPS)

A member can become a Student Representative after successfully recruiting 10 people* to join ATYHS.
*People that you recruit must mention your FIRST AND LAST NAME in their online registration form under the
section "How did you hear about this group?".

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (OFFICERS)

President: Joycelyn Yiu; Vice President: Kathy Zhang; Secretary: Henry Chu; Historian: Erica Swei; Membership
Chair: Henry Wang; Treasurer: Ellie Ruan; Service Project Coordinator: Lucy Yao; Fundraising Project Coordinator:
Wenting Du; Media Chair: N/A

COMMUNITY SERVICE
Community service hours must be approved by either NHS or ATYHS. ATYHS service projects count as community
service. If a member performs service at a profit-driven organization or event, the member may not receive
community service hours.

ATYHS SERVICE PROJECTS

ATYHS will host at least 2 service projects each month, where members will have the opportunity to participate and
earn their minimum 1 hour for the 10 hour requirement. Projects that are available will be posted on our website and
google plus community.
Members are required to wear ATYHS t-shirts when volunteering at ATYHS service projects.
Members must be on-time for their service projects. Members may not leave early or come late without a note of
explanation from parent/doctor. Failure to do so will result in partial hours.

VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP
Members sign up for service projects through online forms. The time, date, location, and hours for the service
projects will be posted on the online forms.
All members must submit their sign-up requests at least 24 hours prior to the service project. Because space is
limited for service projects, officers will approve requests on a first-come-first-serve basis. Officers will email
members as soon as their sign-up request is approved, and members will be responsible for fulfilling the obligations
and attending the service projects.

VOLUNTEER ABSENCE
After officers notify members of their volunteer times, members must notify officers as soon as possible if they are
unable to attend service projects that they signed-up for. If a member cannot fulfill their obligation to a service
project, they must send a replacement. If members are absent, they will not receive hours.

Reoccurring service projects: members must notify officers with a replacement 1 week prior to service
project obligation
Onetime service projects: members must notify officers with a replacement 3 days prior to service project
obligation

Members may solicit replacements via e-mail or the ATYHS google plus community. If a member secures an
ATYHS member to replace them at their project, the member that was originally signed up AND the replacement
must notify the officer in charge of the project of the change. If members do not fulfill their service project
commitment and fail to send a replacement, they will be required to complete additional penalty hours for the
respected term.
Additional penalty hours:
50% of the hours of service that the member failed to commit to will be additionally required, on top of the 10
hours requirement, for the members current term. Penalty hours must be completed at ATYHS service projects
before the end of the term.
The penalized member will be responsible for signing up for projects early so that a spot can be reserved, and
completing the penalty hours with no excuses.
Penalty hours will carry over to the next term if and only if ATYHS does not supply enough service project hours
for the member to fulfill the penalty hours in the current term. If the member is penalized at LAST service
project(s) of the term and runs out of service project opportunities, the member MUST complete the penalty hours
at the FIRST service project(s), consecutively, of the next term until all penalty hours for the previous term are
completed. The 10-hour requirement for the next term does not start until the member has completed all penalty
hours. Penalty hours only carry over 1 term. Failure to fulfill penalty hours will result in deactivation.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
If members are signed up for a service project and the project gets cancelled less than 1 week before the event was
to take place, members will still receive hours. It will be assumed that the member was going to fulfill their
obligation.
If members are ill, or have any type of emergency, causing them to not fulfill their service project obligation, a
signed parent/doctor is required for members to be waived from penalty hours. Planned schedule conflicts are not
excuses.
If members bring project opportunities to the ATYHS faculty sponsors and executive committee, and it results in a
project available to the general members, they will receive service project hours for their initiative. They may only
receive this type of credit once a term.

FUNDRAISING & DONATIONS

As part of being a member of ATYHS, fundraising projects are held to help raise money for our volunteers to
participate in special events, like visiting other cities to do community service, and attending our annual awards
ceremony. Funds are used to replenish t-shirts, office supplies, printing costs, and other outstanding dues.

FUNDRAISING PROJECTS
POINTS SYSTEM
Points are awarded based on how much time a member has spent for a fundraising project. Points are scaled
differently for different events based on the amount of money raised and the demand of the event. A member can
decide when to use points to exchange for money credit, and therefore receive partial/full financial aid when
attending special events and the annual awards ceremony.

PRESIDENTS VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD

Presidential recognition sets you apart from your peers. It is a tremendous honor. Even though you may not seek
recognition, your example can deliver a powerful message that encourages others to take action.
The Presidents Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) recognizes United States citizens and lawfully admitted,
permanent residents of the United States who have achieved the required number of hours of service over a 12month time period or cumulative hours over the course of a lifetime.
Active members with no outstanding fees or penalty hours that have fulfilled the 10-hour requirement for the
respective term are eligible to apply for the PVSA through ATYHS upon approval of the ATYHS Directors.

CRITERIA

Individuals, families and groups that meet the criteria are eligible for the PVSA.
Recipient(s) must be a United States citizen or a lawfully admitted permanent resident of the United States.
Awards are issued for service hours served within a 12-month time period or over the course of a lifetime.
Awards are issued for volunteer service only; additional levels of participation with the organization (i.e., charitable
support) are not a factor considered for the award.
Court-ordered community service does not qualify for the award.
Awards are issued by approved Certifying Organizations.
Service must be with an approved Certifying Organization that is legally established in the United States, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or one of the U.S. territories.

ELIGIBILITY
.
Hours are measured over a 12-month period and awards are designated based on cumulative hours. The awards are
offered in multiple levels and are designed to recognize each milestone of your service achievement. Levels include
bronze, silver, gold and the highest honor, the Presidents Lifetime Achievement Award for those who contribute
more than 4,000 hours of service in their lifetime.

Hours by Award

Bronze

Silver

Gold

Kids (5-10)

26 49

50 74

75 +

Teens (1115)

50 74

75 99

100 +

Young Adults (16-25)

100 174

175 249

250 +

Adults (26 and older)

100 249

250 499

500+

Families and Groups*

200 499

500 999

1,000+

Presidents Lifetime Achievement Award: Individuals who have completed

4,000 or more hours in their lifetime
http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/about