Project Ideas
Here are some ideas for how you can help to make a difference.
- Volunteer as an athlete escort, awards presenter, or sports announcer at one of the many local and state Special Olympics competitions held across the country. Search for an event in your area by going to www.specialolympics.org.
- Get together with friends to organize a book drive. Clean out your bookshelves and encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same. Read the books to kids who may be staying in shelters and children's hospitals this summer, and then leave the books with them as a gift. Or take them to a library that needs more books to share with young readers.
- Do you love swimming? You can help people of all ages and abilities learn how to swim and be safe around the water through the American Red Cross' Learn-to-Swim program. For more information, visit www.redcross.org/services/hss/aquatics/lts.html.
- Organize a car wash with your friends. Donate the profits to a homeless shelter or a foodbank in your community.
- Become a park ranger. Through the National Park Foundation’s Junior Ranger program, you can help preserve the beauty of our public lands. Almost every National Park in the United States has a Junior Ranger program you can find by going to www.nationalparks.org/KidsPrograms/KidsPrograms.shtml.
- Volunteer at a day camp or kids club. Too many camps, especially those that offer free or reduced price tuition, are crowded and understaffed. By sharing your time and care, you can help some very deserving kids have a summer to remember.
- Enjoy the great outdoors and bring along a new friend ... a senior. Call a local senior center to see if they need volunteers for daily outings, or visit a senior who doesn't get many visitors.
- Say thank you to the men and women who defend our country by sending a note or a care package. Many organizations can help you write letters and assemble care packages, and then mail them to men and women in military service throughout the world. You can also find other ways to help support our troops and their families. For more information, visit the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Camp Fire USA, National 4-H Headquarters, or YMCA of the USA, or click here to find a comprehensive list of organizations helping support the families of deployed troops.
- Help take care of dogs, cats, birds, and other animals. Volunteer your time at a zoo, aquarium, or animal shelter, or hold a bake sale to raise money for an animal rescue shelter, or build a birdfeeder for your backyard. The American Humane Society has even more ideas for helping animals, to find them visit www.americanhumane.org/kids.
- For opportunities to help more than 75,000 organizations across the country and around the world, use the USA Freedom Corps Volunteer Network. If you already know what you want to do but are looking for ideas about how to get started, use some good Resources for Getting Started. And to start keeping track of how you are spending your summer, create a personalized Record of Service.