President’s Volunteer Service Award

Pebble Tossers is a certifying organization of the President’s Volunteer Service Award for Georgia Residents.

In 2003, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation founded the President’s Volunteer Service Award to recognize the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity. This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too. The PVSA has continued to honor the volunteers who are using their time and talents to solve some of the toughest challenges facing our nation!

Volunteer Eligibility:

United States citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e., green card holder)
Must be at least five years old
Volunteer must complete eligible service within a 12-month period (for annual Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards) and over a lifetime (for Lifetime Achievement Awards)
Pebble Tossers only certifies members that live in the State of Georgia

Eligible Service:

Unpaid acts of volunteer service benefiting others
- Volunteer service hours may be performed with or outside of Pebble Tossers projects.
- Service through National service programs that provide a stipend (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) may count towards the Lifetime Achievement Award*, but not for the annual Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards)
- Travel stipends, transit/parking passes, membership passes, expense reimbursements, and other nominal volunteer support do not impact service eligibility

Eligible Service does not include:

Donating funds
Political lobbying (Non-partisan voter registration is an eligible activity)
Religious instruction
Conducting worship service
Proselytizing
Volunteer service performed as part of court-ordered community service
Serving only family members

Hours Required to Earn Awards in Each Age Group

Volunteer Age	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Kids (5 – 10)	26 – 49	50 – 74	75+
Teens (11 – 15)	50 – 74	75 – 99	100+
Young Adults (16 – 25)	100 – 174	175 – 249	250+
Adults (26+)	100 – 249	250 – 499	500+
President’s Lifetime Achievement Award: Individuals who have completed 4,000 or more hours in their lifetime.

Award Packages

Bronze, Silver, and Gold Packages include:

Customized certificate
Choice of pin, coin, or medallion
Congratulatory letter from the president
Volunteers may choose to receive only the certificate.

Lifetime Achievement Certificate package includes:

Enlarged, personalized certificate
Congratulatory letter from the President

Pebble Tossers will certify Georgia residents only. To apply for the award, volunteers need to do the following:

Become a member of Pebble Tossers and create a profile in the volunteer portal.
- PVSA applicants living in Georgia may join as an Individual or Family and are eligible for a scholarship.
- Visit the Pebble Tossers website and click on the “become a member button,” and select either Individual or Family membership.
- Pebble Tossers will not verify hours for out-of-state applicants.
Record service hours in the volunteer’s logbook.
- Record all service hours as they are completed
- Volunteer hours served with other organizations must include organizational contact information, service date, and service description. Verification from the organization where service was completed must be uploaded to your Pebble Tossers dashboard for approval. A photo of a volunteer sign-in sheet, a photo of the volunteer actively engaged in the volunteer activity, or a letter from the outside organization are acceptable. A letter from a parent is not sufficient.
Complete eligible service hours within a 12-month period (any consecutive 12-month period is allowed)
Once the volunteer has all of the hours needed for the desired PVSA award level and they have been entered into the logbook, complete the PVSA Request Form.
Students aged 13 and older must be the main point of contact with Pebble Tossers (not the parent/guardian). If you have questions, please refer to the FAQ section below. If the student still has a question, they may email pvsa@pebbletossers.org.
If approved, Pebble Tossers orders the award from Points of Light. Award orders are placed once a quarter. Applications must be submitted to Pebble Tossers by March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 30. Any application after these dates will be included in the next approval cycle.

Click Here for the PVSA Request Form

have questions?

Q:

Does a PVSA applicant have to be a member of Pebble Tossers?

A:

Yes, Pebble Tossers will only certify hours completed by someone with a paid, active membership.
Q:

Can volunteers living outside of Georgia apply for the PVSA through Pebble Tossers?

A:

No, Pebble Tossers will not certify volunteer hours for volunteers outside Georgia.
Q:

What if I had a birthday that increased my hourly requirement?

A:

Age category is determined by the age a volunteer is for at least 7 months out of a designated 12-month award period.
Q:

I submitted my application to Pebble Tossers and have recorded all of my volunteer hours and documentation into my account, but I haven’t heard back from Pebble Tossers about the award. Should I call or email?

A:

No. Additional phone calls and emails only delay efforts to provide programming to our members and delays our efforts to verify every recorded volunteer hour.

If you submitted the online application and recorded your hours in your Dashboard, then Pebble Tossers has the information needed to proceed.
Q:

Can I apply for a PVSA each year?

A:

Yes, volunteers can apply for one award each 12-month period. Example: Josette applied for the PVSA on August 25, 2025. She may apply again after August 26, 2026.
Q:

Will service hours completed with organizations other than Pebble Tossers be accepted?

A:

Yes, you must provide contact information, including the organization’s name, phone number, and email, as well as the date and description of service. Documentation of the service activity must be uploaded into your Pebble Tossers Dashboard. Acceptable documentation includes a photo of the volunteer actively engaged in the service activity and a photo of the external organization’s volunteer check-in sheet that shows the organization’s name, the date, time, and the volunteer’s name. Letters from parents are not accepted.
Q:

Will service hours that were completed virtually be accepted?

A:

Yes, as long as contact information for the organization that benefited from your service is provided and photos of the service performed. Acceptable documentation includes: a photo of the volunteer actively engaged in the service activity, photo(s) of the items made. Example: Frannie made sandwiches for those experiencing homelessness. Frannie took action shots of herself making the photos, then with the bags of finished sandwiches, and also of herself as she dropped off the sandwiches at the shelter with the shelter sign in the background.
Q:

Are service hours that have already been completed accepted?

A:

Yes, however, they need to be current (preferably within the last year and a half). There is no guarantee that an award for service completed 2 years earlier will be approved by the PVSA.
Q:

How do you certify hours?
A:

Volunteers are required to record service hours in their Pebble Tossers’ online logbook. The logbook icon is found on the dashboard of your account profile.

For projects outside Pebble Tossers, the contact information of name, email, and phone number must be provided to certify hours. Documentation of the service activity must be uploaded into your Pebble Tossers Dashboard. Acceptable documentation includes a photo of the volunteer actively engaged in the service activity, a photo of the external organization’s volunteer check-in sheet that shows the organization’s name, the date, time, and the volunteer name. Letters from parents are not accepted.

If the volunteer has received certifications or letters for volunteer hours from a nonprofit, upload them into your Dashboard.
Q:

How do I become a member of Pebble Tossers?
A:

Visit the Pebble Tossers website and click on the “become a member button” and select either individual or family membership

Membership questions can be directed to membership@pebbletossers.org or call 678.757.5597
Q:

When will the PVSA order be placed?
A:

Applications must be submitted to Pebble Tossers by March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 30. Any application after these dates will be included in the next approval cycle.

Pebble Tossers places orders once a quarter for applications received from the previous quarter. The certification process is done in April, July, October, and January. We will not certify hours in other months.

Once the certification process is completed by Pebble Tossers and the hours are submitted to the PVSA, the timeframe that the PVSA approves the awards varies and is out of the control of Pebble Tossers. A Pebble Tossers representative will contact you once we receive the awards to decide on a presentation/delivery time.
Q:

When can I expect to receive the award?

A:

The Award certification process varies depending on the number of applicants each quarter. Recently, the PVSA office has had a backorder of awards and the actual award may not be ordered for several months. Unfortunately, this matter is out of our control.

Best case scenario, once Pebble Tossers verifies all volunteer hours and submits the information to the PVSA, the awards take 2-4 weeks to arrive.

If recipient is located in the metro Atlanta area, Pebble Tossers will arrange a time to present the award in person. If the recipient is outside the metro Atlanta area, the award will be mailed to you. We ask that you take a photo of yourself with the award and email it to pvsa@pebbletossers.org.
Q:

What if I’m a volunteer but I am not yet a United States citizen?

A:

Per federal program rules, only U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents (i.e., green card holders) may be awarded the PVSA.
Q:

Can I combine my service hours from previous PVSA years to earn a new award?
A:

No, volunteer hours for the PVSA can only be counted in the year they were completed and cannot be combined with hours from previous years:

Each award is based on a 12-month period, and hours can only be counted within that period.

Once hours are certified and an award is placed, they cannot be used again for a subsequent annual award. However, they can be used towards the 4,000 hours required for the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Q:

How do I add the volunteer hours I earned from school or another organization I volunteer with onto my Pebble Tossers account for PVSA verification?

A:

1. Click on “Add Impact” from the https://volunteer.pebbletossers.org/group/772370-Pebble-Tossers.
2. On the Impact Form, click on “Change Group” located at the right corner
3. Click again on “Can’t Find It” — this will lead you to an impact form that will prompt you to input additional information, including organization name, service dates, service description, contact information, and attachment files.
4. Please add any forms/letters/documents related to your service for us to review
5. Make sure that Pebble Tossers is tagged in the Privacy & Sharing Settings so that we can receive and review the hours
6. Click Submit to send the hours our way for verification!

watch a how-to video

Please wait up to 48 hours for your impact hours to be reviewed and verified. If we require additional information, our Volunteer Coordinator will reach out to you via email.