Service Projects

Service Project Ideas

Mentor for Big Brother/Big Sister
Coordinate “Senior Home Repair” projects
Gather donations to a food bank
Make ramps for those confined to wheelchairs
Serve at a soup kitchen for the poor
Tutor at a kids club
Read for the blind
Read to the aged in an assisted living setting
Record life history stories of the elderly
Record stories of war veterans
Garden for poor families
Construct/Maintain a hiking trail
Produce a public service announcement
Build benches and tables for public parks
Collect clothing for the homeless
Raise funds for new books in a public library
Cleanup a local public park or facility
Collect Resources for a women’s shelter
Protect a pond or a feature of the local natural environment
Mentor ESL students
Collect recyclable items
Tutor students in lower grades in reading
Interview a senior citizen
Organize a dance for special education students
Organize CPR training for students
Organize community reading labs
Organize and participate in a neighborhood watch program
Provide an information packet for new residents of a community
Create an informational brochure for ESL students
Assist a religious organization (other than your own) in community involvement
Create and maintain a community bulletin board, newsletter, or website
Assist a political candidate in an election
Create financial planning brochures for high school students
Volunteer time to those on Social Security Disability
Design a float for a service organization for a parade
Create a mural for a community reflecting its values
Design a presentation on pesticides and the environment for younger students
Create a children’s book on a local event or person
Create coloring books for abused children
Develop and distribute a pamphlet on child labor laws
Make quilts for the homeless
Provide entertainment for nursing home residents
Tutor immigrants in preparation for the Citizenship Test
Provide free computer instruction in a library or school lab
Coach physically disabled students in a team sport
Participate in a local Habitat for Humanity home construction project
Befriend a student struggling with mental illness
Sing and play games with children suffering from
HIV/AIDS Volunteer to babysit for economically disadvantaged parents
Plan a community garden
Volunteer to help with the special Olympics
Organize a read-a-thon for your neighborhood
Create and perform a puppet show for children in a crisis center
Arrange for a bakery to donate day old bread to a homeless shelter
Design greeting cards for the elderly
Care for a local cemetery
Produce public service announcements
Paint and place trash receptacles for a park or recreation area
Start a letter writing campaign about a community issue
Participate in a walkathon for a worthy cause
Join an Interact Club at Rotary Clubs International
Work on projects with Americorps
Participate in Peer Youth Courts
Become involved in Youth Engaged in Homeland Security – Dept. of Public Safety
Involvement in 4-H
Involvement in Boy Scouts of America
Clean up neighbor’s yards around a school
Clean up the school yard by classes
Shovel snow for the elderly and needy in your neighborhood
Work on the local city council
Read with younger children
Making hats for the poor
Do a book-a-thon collecting used books to reuse
Take Christmas blankets out to the needy in your neighborhood as a field trip
Push in carts at a local store during thanksgiving and Christmas rush times
Take dinner to the poor and needy at Christmas and thanksgiving
Pen pal with the aged in retirement centers
Take Christmas stockings to the police and firemen in your town
Send thank-you notes to the PTA

Web Resources

National Youth Leadership Council
This organization has published a variety of materials to support different aspects of Service Learning. This link goes directly to their resource library which contains many project ideas and possible partnership organizations/opportunities.

Volunteer Match
This site does not have curriculum ties or project ideas, but it provides information for organizations who frequently work with volunteers and might be willing to partner with a school on a project you design.

Award-winning Projects in Maryland
Includes their state curriculum standards and project descriptions.

Twenty-five Days to Make a Difference
A child's ongoing blog where she recognizes others efforts and describes "little things" she does every day to make a difference in the lives of others. Created to honor her grandfather in December of 2007, it has grown considerably since.

Good Character
This web site has a variety of resources. The link is direct to a collection of examples. There were good ideas - some with clear curriculum connections, others stretching a bit.

Learn and Serve: America's National Service-learning Clearinghouse
This web site was not as easy to use as some of the others, but there are over 350 curriculum-tied examples for K-12 service-learning projects.