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Tracking Volunteer Hours

Tracking volunteer hours on the Ice Age Trail is beneficial and critically important to both the volunteer and the Ice Age Trail Alliance.

Benefits to the Volunteer

As a volunteer, you are eligible for both awards and medical/liability coverage as part of the National Park Service Volunteers In Parks (VIP) program.

Additionally, the VIP program recognizes volunteers with a suite of valuable awards. Every volunteer in our database has a "career hours count" (started January 1st, 2007); as volunteers over time pass various hours thresholds (100, 250, 500, 1000 hours...) they earn various awards such as certificates, pins, hats, shirts and jackets. Additionally, each time a volunteer passes a 500-hour increment, they receive a federal Interagency Volunteer Pass covering entrance fees at all federally administered recreation sites (national parks, national forests, etc.) for one year!

Benefits to the Ice Age Trail Alliance

For the Ice Age Trail Alliance, the total number of volunteer hours we report each year to the National Park Service is an important part of our fundraising efforts and a key factor for building legislative support for the Ice Age Trail.

Method for Tracking Hours

If you attend an Ice Age Trail volunteer event, please be sure to provide your name and sign in and out with the event coordinator. Be sure to include travel time to and from the event.

If you are a frequent volunteer, you can maintain an individual hours log to track your activities over the course of a quarter, and then pass your log along to your local Chapter Coordinator or the Ice Age Trail Alliance main office at the end of the quarter.

All event sign-in sheets and individual hours logs are compiled by chapter leaders and Ice Age Trail Alliance staff into reports. From those reports, hours for each individual are entered into our master volunteer hours database. The database is used to both compile our yearly hours count for the National Park Service and to identify volunteers who are eligible for awards.

Hours-Tracking Resources for Chapter/Event Leaders

Event Sign-In Sheet

Quarterly Chapter Hours Report Worksheet

* Our report for the entire organization for the National Park Service's "volunteer year" (Oct. 1 - Sept. 30th) is due in mid-October, necessitating an earlier deadline for the July/August/September quarterly report.

Additional Resources for All Volunteers

Important documents on Ice Age Trail volunteering are available on the NPS Volunteers In Parks web page. These documents are provided to support volunteers in their work on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and to ensure a fun and safe experience.