Tuesday, February 21, 2017

News From Today's DAR Blog - DAR Chapter Work May Be Included in Service to America Hours

Written By Sharla Luken, National Chair, Service to America Committee
As DAR continues “Moving Forward in Service to America,” it is a pleasure to share some exciting news with you.   After much discussion, the Executive Committee has decided that members can now include their DAR chapter work in their Service to America volunteer hours. 
Many members shared with this chairman and others their service stories and DAR work from this past year via their Chapter Master Report.   It is felt that this DAR work benefits our communities and needs to be counted as Service to America hours.   This includes genealogy research, American History contests, Good Citizens scholarships, conservation work, veterans work, community service awards and all other DAR work.  It also includes officers’ board meetings, planning and execution of DAR programs and other DAR work within the chapter.  It does not include travel to and from a DAR meeting or specific site or a member simply attending a meeting.  
As members log their hours in the Service to America Online Tally, there will be a check box for DAR work in addition to the three existing checkboxes of Historic Preservation, Education and Patriotism. By including DAR work in the Service to America Online Tally, we will be able to give every member a chance to participate and share their story of service to the community through DAR .
We hope that members continue to share their service stories with their chapter and prospective members.  It is through our DAR work that we can enhance the public’s appreciation of the relevant, dynamic nature of DAR and its benefits to our communities throughout America.  I am delighted with this decision and look forward to all our members now being able to participate in the Service to America initiative in additional ways.
The Service to America Committee website is updated to reflect these changes.  Please visit www.dar.org/servicetoamericacommittee for more information and contact me if you have any questions.
Remember to enter your volunteer hours in the Service to America Online Tally and send photos and stories to servicetoamerica@nsdar.org