Project Ideas
Here are some ideas for how you can help to make a difference.
- During the summer months, millions of children lose access to the school lunches they depend upon to find healthy food and avoid hunger. (More than 15 million elementary and high school kids received free or reduced lunch in 2000, and for many it was their only meal of the day.) Volunteer together to collect food and re-stock the shelves of your local food bank. Ask another family to join you. For more ways to help, go to www.secondharvest.com.
- Planning a family vacation? Combine your holiday with volunteer service. Many organizations offer volunteer vacations and destination service activities that let you work together to build trails, assist with archeological digs, and build or restore houses. For more information on how to connect your family with volunteer opportunities on public lands all across America, visit www.volunteeramerica.net/vacations.htm.
- Have you already planned your family vacation but still want to get away and volunteer together? Consider a Volunteer Work Weekend at one of the YMCA's many family and conference centers. In exchange for your work in the outdoors, you can receive lodging and meals and participate in a variety of camp programs. Visit www.ymca.net to find opportunities near you.
- Organize a "neighborhood block party." Get to know your neighbors and establish a neighborhood watch group. Get your community ready to participate in the 20th Annual National Night Out, a crime and drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch on Tuesday, August 5, 2003. Find out more, visit www.natw.org/natwwww.natw.org/natw.
- Tornadoes destroyed homes across the country this spring, and now parts of the country are experiencing hurricanes, floods and forest fires. Every year natural disasters leave many families with damaged homes, or even worse, homeless. Collect school supplies during the summer and create Back to School kits for children in communities impacted by disasters. Or collect and send clothes, books and furniture. For information on how to donate to affected communities, visit www.redcross.org.
- Is your family going camping or heading to the beach this summer? The increase in visitors to our public lands during the summer months also increases the amount of trash left behind and affects the fish and wildlife that make our public lands their home. Spend some time picking up litter and helping to keep our country beautiful.
- If you live in the suburbs or a small town, you can open up your home this summer to a child growing up in a city, and let him or her experience the joy of a "Fresh Air" vacation. Families are offering children from disadvantaged backgrounds wonderful vacations and creating summer experiences for the whole family to cherish through the Fresh Air Fund. www.freshair.org to find out more.
- Haven’t finished your spring cleaning? Organize your closets, your kitchen, and other rooms and donate your gently-used items to your local Salvation Army or Goodwill. For local donation sites, visit www.goodwill.org or www.salvationarmyusa.org.
- Get together with other families in the neighborhood to organize a "neighborhood co-op." Share responsibilities for babysitting, summer reading programs, yard work and other household tasks. This will give each family some time to sit back, relax, and enjoy their summer days and nights.
- 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.