If you have court ordered or mandatory community service hours to complete, we’re here to help!

1. Sign Up: Make sure that you’ve already made an account with Hands On Atlanta. If you haven’t done that yet, there’s no need to worry. Making an account is quick an easy. Go to the sign up page here and fill out the form. Remember to accept the terms and conditions before you click submit, and you will be ready to go!

2. Find a project: The easiest way to start finding service projects is to search our Volunteer Portal. There you can search by date, impact area, location and more! If you follow the link above, we’ve already selected the filter for court ordered volunteers to ensure that all the opportunities you see are right for you.

   From virtual opportunities to food pantry assistance, Hands On Atlanta posts well over 100 volunteer opportunities in a typical week to help you find something that interests you. Sign up for as many projects as you will attend, and you’re ready to begin serving!

   Be sure to schedule and complete your service about 2 weeks before your letter is due, to allow time for hours to be verified in the system and letters to be available.

3. Serve: You’re now ready to get out and serve the ATL community! Whether you’re dialing in from Zoom or driving up to an in-person event, there are a few things to keep in mind.

   • First, remember to double check that you’re arriving for your project at the right date and time that you registered for. Many opportunities have multiple time slots, and we want to make sure you’re here for the right one!

   • Also, remember to sign in and sign out for the project because without signing we can’t verify your hours. Verifying your hours is the only way to get a service letter confirming your mandatory service, but we’ll talk more about this in step four.

   • The last thing to do when serving is to have fun! Take advantage of the opportunity to do something good, meet other people and gain a better understanding of challenges facing our community.

4. Download Your Certificate: After completing all your hours, your Certificate will be available for download in your account. Simply log in to your account on the volunteer portal, then select My Opportunities. From there, select Certificate and History on the left side, and click Download Certificate. The file will save to your device as a PDF, and you can print or share it with anyone you need to. Find more detailed instructions here.

   If the court or school system cannot accept the Certificate, you can request a custom letter of verification. Hands On Atlanta writes service letters once a week on Wednesdays. This is important to know if you are faced with a time sensitive request. Please plan accordingly. We send certified letters digitally, on Hands On Atlanta letterhead, with a signature.

• When writing service letters, we can only confirm your verified hours of service. We understand that it can be frustrating to wait for hours to be verified, especially if you need them quickly. Please know that it typically takes between 5 and 7 business days for volunteer hours to be verified. If your hours are not verified within that time frame, please reach out to the organization directly. Hands On Atlanta cannot verify your hours for projects we don’t manage. If that doesn’t work either, then please reach out to Hands On Atlanta, and we will message the organization directly about getting hours verified.

• We know that sometimes a mailed letter with a wet ink signature is required, but unfortunately under COVID-19 regulations that is not a requirement that we can meet because our offices are closed. However, if you would like for us to reach out to the person requesting a mailed letter to explain our current regulations, you can email us with their contact information.