Per Key Club International Policy Code, a Service Hours is "any hour of service performed by an individual Key Club member with the approval of their club's board of directors." We can break down this definition into three components.

1. A service hour must be community service.

This includes service projects that benefit the school or community and fundraisers that benefit charity.

Some examples of items that do not count as service for Key Club include:

• Attending Key Club meetings and board meetings, except for any time during those events engaged in a service project.

• Attending District events, Divisional events, International events, Key Leader, etc., except for any time during those events engaged in a service project.

• Administrative work for Key Club, such as planning meetings, recruiting, maintaining club records, etc.

• Fundraisers that benefit the Key Club, such as raising funds to attend events or build the club's treasury, as opposed to benefiting charity.

Q: If we hold a Key Club meeting with an in-meeting service project that lasts less than an hour, how do we record service hours? A: Each Key Club member who participated in the in-meeting service project can receive 1 service hour. Although the project took less than a full hour, you can round up to 1 hour.

Q: I attended the District Educational Conference and took part in a service project for 3 hours while I was there. How many service hours should I record? A: You should record 3 service hours. The remainder of your time at the event (attending workshops and sessions, eating, sleeping, going to the dance, etc.) is not service.

2. The hour must be approved by the Key Club's Board of Directors.

This is a formal way of saying that the service project was through Key Club. The Board approves projects that the Key Club organizes. It also approves projects that Key Club does jointly with other clubs and organizations. Finally, the Board approves travel to District and International events where members may engage in a service project for a couple hours.

If a member volunteers individually with another organization outside of Key Club, those service hours should not count for Key Club. Generally, the Key Club Board should not approve a service project unless it is open to all members.

3. The hour must be performed by a Key Club member.

A Key Club member is a student who is added to a Key Club's roster in the Membership Update Center and for whom Key Club International dues are paid. Hours performed by other students who attend a service project do not count towards Key Club's total it reports to the District (unless you recruit those members to join Key Club, which we always recommend!).

Please note, this definition is limited to Key Club and does not affect what you can record as service hours for other clubs/organizations or your school's graduation requirements.