Family Volunteering - Project Ideas

Penny Drive - What do you do with all those pennies?  Gather pennies around the house to help a favorite nonprofit organization. Families can run drives for school supplies, for pet food for shelters or canned food for the food bank.

Recycle - Collect gently used children's books & donate them to a child care agency. Are there old cell phones, computers, eyeglasses and seldom used household items around the house? Click here and find a place to donate.

Clean It Up! - Contact a local agency & offer to do "spring/fall cleaning" inside or outside.  Go to your local main street, park or beach and pick up litter.  Write an article for your local paper or school newsletter to share what you have found and encourage everyone to take care of the neighborhood.  Click here for organizations protecting the environment.

Entertainment - Bring your instruments, dancing shoes, voices, juggling skills and other talents to share with people in nursing homes, senior centers, hospitals, & veterans homes.  Click here for a list of facilities.

Let Someone Know You Care - Send a greeting to a soldier, sick child or elderly person. Find out more by clicking   Hugs and Hope , Make a Child Smile,  Care Cards & Say Thanks to Our Troops .

Help a Neighbor - Do you have an elderly neighbor or know someone who just had an injury or surgery?  Find out if you can help with chores or grocery shopping.  Give a friendly phone call each day to let them know you care.

Distribute Information about a local nonprofit group.  Look through this website and find an organization with a mission that is important to you.  Find out what you can do to help.

Emergency Preparedness - Type a list of your family's home, work and cell numbers & distribute the list to each member of your family & close relatives.  Add ICE [In Case of Emergency] to your mobile phone address book.  Click here to learn what you can do to help keep your family safe and prepare for emergencies. Share this information with your neighbors & friends.

Read To Someone about Giving & Sharing - Some book suggestions:

The Giving Book by Ellen Sabin, Berenstain Bears Lend a Helping Hand by Stan  & Jan Berenstain, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein; Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox; Quiltmakers's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau & Gail De Marcken; Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney; The Peace Book by Todd Parr.