Terms of use
The rules, in plain words
Short, because there isn't much to say. Be honest about your hours, own what you write, and we'll do the same.
The short version
- Log hours you actually did. We check before they count.
- Your writing stays yours. You decide if it's published, and you can withdraw it.
- One account per volunteer. Under-13s are set up by a grown-up.
- This is a volunteer project, not a paid service — please read the last section.
Your account
An account exists so your hours can be tied to you, which is what lets us put your name on a certificate. Keep your password to yourself, use a real email address you can open, and don't create an account pretending to be someone else.
If the volunteer is under 13, a parent, guardian, or teacher creates and holds the account. The child's name goes on it because they did the volunteering — the login belongs to the adult.
Logging hours honestly
Log time you actually spent and cards you actually made. Don't round up. A real person reviews every entry, and we'll ask about anything that looks off before deciding.
We can decline an entry, and we'll say why. A certificate is our own statement that we checked the work and believe it — so we only issue one for hours we've approved. We're not a government awards body and don't claim to be.
Stories you send us
Your writing stays yours. By sending it you give us permission to publish it on this site and to make light edits for clarity, spelling, and privacy — nothing that changes what you meant.
- We'll show you any edits before it goes live. Nothing is published without your OK.
- You can ask to appear under a first name only.
- You can ask us to take it down at any time, and we will.
- Write about your own experience. Change or leave out other people's names.
- No medical advice, and nothing that identifies a patient other than yourself.
Accounts held by a parent or guardian for an under-13 can't submit stories. See the privacy policy for why.
Clubs
Whoever starts a club can see members' names and their approved hours and card counts — nothing else. Don't share an invite code more widely than you mean to; you can generate a fresh one whenever you like, which stops the old one working.
Closing an account
Email hello@hearts4hands.org and we'll close it. Your hour records are anonymised rather than deleted, so the totals we publish stay accurate — they stop being connected to you. Published stories stay up unless you ask us to remove them, which you can do separately at any time.
We'd only close an account ourselves for repeatedly logging hours that didn't happen, submitting someone else's writing as your own, or using the site to harass anyone. We'd tell you why first.
What we can and can't promise
Hearts4Hands is run by volunteers. We'll do our best to review hours promptly, keep the site up, and get cards where they're going — but we can't guarantee timing, and we can't promise a hospital will accept a particular delivery. Card deliveries follow each hospital's own rules, which change.
The site is provided as-is, without warranties. Nothing here is medical, legal, or financial advice.
Changes
If these change, we'll update this page and the date below. Last updated August 11, 2026. Questions go to hello@hearts4hands.org.