Although this year has brought many difficulties, including getting the proper service hours, some opportunities still remain. What can qualify as service hours has also changed a little this year. Although some service opportunities have stayed the same, many have changed due to Covid-19.

Mercy girls are required to have a minimum of 40 service hours in their four years to graduate. However, sometimes it is easier to get more service hours one year compares to another. For example, you could get 35 service hours your freshman year and only need 5 more fore graduation requirements. However, Mercy still wants its girls to stay active in their community, so even if you have all of your required service hours you must volunteer at least 5 hours per school year.

This year we have not,  unfortunately, been unable to find as many service opportunities through school as normal. One example of this is the Villa services. Usually girls would be able to complete service hours by playing games, talking with, or doing many other activities with the woman at the Mercy Villa. Sadly, these opportunities have been stopped to protect everyone from spreading the Corona virus even more. Because of these changes, the restrictions for what counts as service hours has eased to allow us to all stay safe while still serving others.
Some of the ways we can now get service hours include:
• Babysitting (with no pay)
• Dog sitting (with no pay)
• Helping neighbors or family with yard work (with no pay)
• Open Door Mission
• Heart Ministry Center
If none of these are appeal to you, always feel free to reach out to your local church. Many churches are looking for volunteers right now to help for 10-30 minutes after mass to just help wipe down pews and make sure everything is safe for people to attend.

In conclusion, although not all service opportunities have been determined safe yet, there are still many alternate things you can do to meet your yearly hours.