* Help serve food in a soup kitchen * Conduct a canned food drive * Collect clothing/hygiene supplies/toys/paper products/blankets to give to a shelter * Cook casseroles to be served at shelters * Inspect and sort canned food * Make sandwiches and bag lunches for homeless children or a shelter * Organize snacks for walkers during fundraising events * Teach computer or other job-building skills * Make welcome baskets for new Habitat for Humanity homeowners * Grow a vegetable garden and donate some of the food to a shelter * Glean fresh produce for food pantries * Collect clothing for goodwill * Conduct toiletry, mitten, or book drives * Collect art and school supplies for homeless children * Sponsor a birthday party for a homeless child * Have a meal or other benefit to raise money for a shelter * Research homeless issues with your family and help your friends and neighbors understand the problem as it relates to your community * Contact and write letters to governmental leaders about the problems surrounding homelessness in your area * Participate in a Walk or Run and gather pledges to raise funds for food banks and pantries who are feeding the hungry * Pick up donations and deliver them to shelters * Make fleece tie blankets * Adopt a family – give gifts anonymously or holiday gifts, have a friendship with them, have barbecues together * Share a musical presentation, talent show, or dramatic production * Work, plant, water, weed and/or harvest in a community garden * Plan a meal, purchase ingredients, and prepare food for a small group of residents or a family in transitional housing
Befriend the Elderly
* Have a “senior” prom at a nursing home * Have a talent show or musical program for residents at a nursing home * Make emergency storm packs for elderly in times of need * Organize a Bingo evening or game night * Organize a barbecue * Perform seasonal yard work including weeding, mowing lawns, raking leaves, and shoveling snow for nursing homes * Give manicures and pedicures * Have puppet shows * Plant flowers
* Make decorations for rooms – could make flowers out of tissue paper or construction paper to brighten up a room or attach to wheelchairs or beds
* Clip coupons for seniors – often they are on a tight budget * Record and write down stories and memories about his/her life * Label pictures to preserve memories of people and places (using acid-free materials) * Make cards or write letters for a special older friend * Play board games with nursing home residents * Perform a play for residents * Read a book or the newspaper * Write letters or send email to their families * Conduct small home repairs * Make lap blankets * Bring your pet to visit
Care for Sick or Disabled People
* Help with setup and decorations and/or cleanup of a party * Put on a special party with a holiday, birthday or other fun theme * Have a special story time or reading hour * Tell funny stories * Help run an event or cheer and support athletes for the Special Olympics * Tutor at an after-school program for children with mental retardation * Deliver meals to people with AIDS * Do a Walk or Run to educate and raise money for cancer research (or another important disease) * Sort through donations for families being sheltered from abuse * Support the Red Cross disaster relief programs in your area * Do craft projects and wrap gifts for a women's shelter * Teach arts and crafts to children with disabilities * Help with painting projects and/or horticulture * Play soccer or other sports with youth who have developmental disabilities * Grant “wishes” for children who are sick * Deliver or serve meals to people who are bedridden or their families * Make food for families with relatives in the hospital * Put on a concert for people with disabilities
Assist Children
* Make pillows, cards, games, or stuffed toys for children who are sick in the hospital
* Make booboo bunnies for children to receive at a clinic
* Collect items to make baby bags for poor mothers who recently had a baby – may contain diapers, baby bottles, pacifiers, burp rags, formula, baby food, etc.
* Plan a special event outing or field trip for kids in a low-income preschool
* Help children at an after-school program develop their talents – have rehearsal time and hold a talent show
* Hold a drive to collect sunscreen/flip flops/healthy snacks/school supplies for children
* Teach children a special skill or recipe
* Hold clothing drives and donate clothes to those in need
* Re-paint or rebuild playground equipment
* Teach music lessons to children in need
* Lead a craft project with children that will help elderly in a nursing home
* Have a birthday supply drive to give a child in need the party supplies necessary for a birthday party
* Make, buy, or donate toys for children in orphanages or shelters
* Sort through clothing, toys or books others have donated for children in need
* Play basketball or other sports with children in need
* Donate your hair for children with cancer or other medical conditions
* Put together a baby layette for new moms
* Make a first day of school package with school supplies
* Conduct a fundraiser to help send a child to summer camp
* Make care packages (i.e. sunscreen, stationery) for children at camp
* Write letters to or for sick children
* Organize a teddy bear drive
* Draw pictures for Save the Children
* Donate and sort books, clothes and party supplies for disadvantaged children
* Select and wrap gifts for the holidays
International/Culture
* Research and host a party where you educate people about real issues in other countries and ways they can help
* Crochet bandages for people who have leprosy
* Gather supplies, make and send school kits to children in Iraq
* Exchange recipes and cook together with people from different countries
* Share experiences from living in another culture and what you learned
* Sponsor a child living abroad
* Rebuild a bicycle to be sent abroad
* Send a child to school in Tanzania
* Write to a pen pal overseas
Respond to the Environment
* Write letters to Congress supporting legislation that helps the environment * Help clean up shore around lakes, beaches/coasts, river * Clean up litter on the street or in a park * Weed in a cemetery or park * Use more energy-efficient light bulbs * Work on a community garden or farm * Clear trails * Start a compost pile * Participate in a city cleanup in your local area * Research about specific environmental issues and present for others in a creative, fun, and educational way * Recycle! * Fix a leaky faucet for yourself or a friend * Look for and promote programs in your area that recycle cell phones, toner cartridges, printers, computers, phone books, etc. * Learn more about energy efficiency and renewable energy and educate others about insulating their home * Learn about energy conservation and make daily changes at home, school, and work * Plant trees and other native species to preserve natural habitats * Plant flowers and trees in your yard or (with permission) in other public areas * Come up with creative craft projects out of re-used materials to combine with other volunteer opportunities (ex. helping children, the elderly, or people with disabilities) * Make sets for dramatic productions out of cardboard boxes and other re-used items
Support the Arts
* Help with family days and other special events * Help set up exhibits
Take Care of Animals
* Help clean up at a local animal shelter * Help with a yard sale, bake sale, or lemonade stand and donate the money you earn to an animal organization * Make items, such as magnets, scarves, or other special animal artwork that you can sell, and donate the proceeds to animals in need * Protect habitats for endangered animals (see also list of suggestions for helping the Environment) * Have a dog or cat food drive * Make a birdbath or birdhouse * Join an activist network * Encourage vegetarian diets in schools and distribute materials * Walk or run to raise money for animals * Contact legislators and companies about issues affecting animals * Sponsor a party or festival where friends and the community can learn about animals in need, have fun, and donate money to help them out * Adopt an endangered species * Research and teach others about a local shelter, its needs, and ways people can help
