I'm sure there are more ideas for community service activities than will fit on one page, but it might help new leaders to get some ideas.
Environmental Activities[]
- Park or creek clean ups. Check around your neighborhood or local parks. Many of these may have annual or semi-annual clean up events, particularly around Earth Day (April 20th).
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- Make pet toys for local animal shelters. Cat nip sock toys, tube socks with old tennis balls in them for dogs, braided pull toys from strips of old fabric (used sheets, towels, t-shirts).
- Make cat scratching pad using leftover boxes from cookie cases.
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- Birthday-in-a-Bag. Talk to a local homeless shelter or food bank about donating Birthday-in-a-Bag collections for young children. Fill a large gift bag with: cake mix, frosting, foil cake pan, cake decorations, candles, balloons, plates, napkins, small unisex toy or present (unwrapped), and wrapping paper and ribbon. Some scouts have done this as a way to celebrate Juliette Low's birthday.
- Bedtime Bags for children at shelters, or going into foster care: Each bag has a stuffed animal, a blanket, a book, and a toothbrush.
- Food drives are very popular. Our troop has organized these around school events -- so people coming for movie night or sports events are asked to bring a canned good as an entrance "fee."
- Jared Box. A Jared Box is a shoebox size plastic storage box filled with small gifts, toys, cards, and games. Each box contains items selected for a specific age and gender. The boxes are delivered to hospitals and are given to chronically ill children. The Jared Boxes provide a special diversion for young patients as they receive chemotherapy and other medical treatments.
- Red Cross Comfort Kits. Collect personal hygiene items for Red Cross comfort kits.
- Socks of Love. Fill warm socks for the homeless with toiletry necessities.
- Wake-up stands at rest areas on busy traffic holiday weekends. I remember seeing different groups (not necessarily scouts) doing this on Thanksgiving weekend. Free coffee to keep folks awake. Here's one troop that did it recently: Girl Scouts Helping Drivers. This would probably work better with older scouts, particularly if it is done late at night.
Other Resources[]
- Projects from Having Fun at Home website.