Share your vision to build a more generous world. Find a blank wall or place a large board in a public space. Write an instructions plaque reading: “Write your vision for a more generous world!” or “What will you do today to make the world better?”Let everyone fill in their notes and place them on the wall to showcase how their efforts to do good in a small scale can add up to something really big.
“It takes 90 years for a can to break down,” says Ryan of Ryan’s Recycling. ”It takes 600 years for a plastic bottle to break down.” See how many cans or bottles you can collect from your home, school, or neighborhood on Dec 3, then bring it to your local recycling plant. Make a competition out of it with the neighboring school!
There are plenty of ways to support our furry friends. Bake some dog cookies for your local rescue. Donate a bag of tennis balls and give some happiness to some doggos. Collect old blankets and towels for your local animal shelter. Volunteer for the afternoon caring for cats.
Think about your daily necessities, then consider that people experiencing homelessness might not have access to those items. Collect things like wipes, socks, deodorant, hand sanitizer, granola bars, toothbrushes, toothpaste, bottled water. Distribute these care packages after school to anyone who may want one.
Khloe says: “Remember to talk to the people who you’re helping - they have a story. Listening shows them that people do care and that gives them hope.”
Jahkil says: “Here are some items you may include in your bags”
Food pantries are often in need, especially during the holiday season. Rally your classmates to participate in a canned food drive. Then take a field trip to bring in your donations to see the impact first hand.
When a teacher hands out a list for parents of basic school supplies, it's a real problem for at least one in five children in the US who live below the federally defined poverty line. Collect notebooks, folders, pencils, glue sticks, erasers, a ruler, pencil pouch and crayons for students in need.
Create change by using the power of kindness in your own neighborhoods, schools, and homes. Paint kind messages on rocks and hide them around your community. Or print these flyers and post them around your school to inspire others to be, above all things, kind. Want more ideas? Here’s a list of 100 acts of kindness!
Learn about ways to “green” your school. Research your school’s practices in waste reduction, resource conservation + energy use.
Find ways to reduce the amount of food that’s discarded at your school cafeteria. Ask your principal if you can create a “Share Table,” where students can return unopened, packaged lunch items to share with either fellow students who might be hungry, or to be donated to your local homeless shelter.
Our friends at generationOn have created tons of project ideas to address bullying and to amplify inclusion. Create a healthy community with one of their project ideas here!
Make healthy sacked lunches for people who are hungry and deliver them after school. Include a kind note and you’ll fill not only their bellies but their souls. Visit HashtagLunchBag.org to get started.
Khloe says: “Remember to talk to the people who you’re helping - they have a story. Listening shows them that people do care and that gives them hope.”
Plastic bags suck. Create a campaign to educate + encourage your community to use reusable grocery bags instead. Make posters for your local grocery store or ask if you can make a display for a “tote bag loan" program”
Find a vacant lot in your neighborhood and plan a clean up project. Find out who owns the lot + get permission to restore it. Organize + coordinate a cleanup event, removing trash, recycling, and weeds
Depending on what the weather is like where you live, team up with your friends to organize a beach or neighborhood cleanup. Sort and count the litter you collected, present the findings at your school, and encourage others not to litter our earth.
You’ve got the power and the passion to transform your community. By lending our voice to advocate for the causes and issues we care about, we can all be activists who affect the kind of change that makes our world a better place. Get some ideas from DoSomething.org or Change.org, and don't forget that you can make some of the most meaningful change within your own local community.
Not everyone has access to the books they need to learn and grow. Host a book drive and help young people develop a love of reading.
1. Put up a stand or a box in a public area where you’ll be collecting donations
2. Promote your event – post online, put signs up and let everyone know that you’ll be collecting books for donation to children
3. Donate the books to a school, community center or children’s hospital or even your local laundromat.
Families' inability to pay for school lunches is becoming an increasing problem. Ask your school if there are overdue lunch accounts and run a fundraiser to cover the costs. Kids have bigger problems to deal with than whether or not they're able to eat that day.
The Little Free Library movement helps ensure that everyone has access to free books. Get the plans to build one here.
Similarly, a Little Free Pantry can help increase access to non-perishable foods for your community. Find grocery lists and recipe cards you can print out and include in your pantry here.
Adopt a local park or greenspace area near your school. Coordinate with the parks management to maintain a section of the park.
Grab a group of friends and hit the streets to shovel the walkways for elderly neighbors.
We all have mental health, just like physical health, but stigma prevents people from getting the help they need. With your help, we can break the silence and let people know they are not alone.
Use your voice to increase awareness about mental health. Create a “Mental Health Check-In” wall at your school, host a mental health awareness day, print and distribute fact sheets, and help change the conversation.
Thanks to The Youth Mental Health Project for submitting this project idea.
The best kind of doorbell ditching. Poinsettia delivery! Pick up a poinsettia (or other holiday flowers) at a local grocery store, choose a friend who needs a little cheering, run up to the door, ring the doorbell and run! Include a note or don't, it's up to you.
