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99 Community Service Project Ideas
Rosterfy have pulled together a list of 99 community service volunteer project ideas for volunteers to consider and try.
Rochelle Gunn
Oct 17, 2022
Participating in community service is an effective way of contributing to your local area and helping the residents of your community. There are numerous ways to get involved with community service but a good place to start is to think about what you are passionate about and what interests you. This could be things like animal welfare, helping sick kids, encouraging reading and writing, providing assistance at a homeless shelter, cooking or social media.
We have put together a list of community service project ideas that covers all these areas, and more. These community service project ideas have been categorized as those that are suitable for students in middle school, high school and college. Plus, we have included lots of ideas for adults too!
Why participate in community service projects?
Participating in community service activities and projects is a great way to contribute to improving the lives of those in your community. It is an opportunity to help the elderly, the environment, the underprivileged, to help reduce crime and improve amenities within the community.
Community service is a valuable inclusion on your resume as it demonstrates to potential employers that you have a range of transferable skills such as team work, time management and communication.
Another benefit of participating in community service is that it can enhance your college applications. The University of South Florida reports that a survey of 264 admissions officers at US colleges found that 58% of respondents agreed that “a student’s community service experience has a positive impact on his or her acceptance to our higher education institution”. Importantly, 53% of respondents said participation in community service can be the deciding factor when there is a choice between two otherwise equally qualified students.
Community service ideas for middle school students
1. Take out and bring in an elderly neighbor’s bin
2. Collect toys and games from friends, family and classmates and donate these to shelters
3. Donate clothes you have outgrown to shelters and charities
4. Collect books and donate them to shelters or little libraries in your community
5. Join a surf lifesaving juniors program to learn how to keep beach swimmers safe
6. Collect school supplies and donate them to students who wouldn’t otherwise have access to them
7. Grow flowers and vegetables at home to share with your neighbors
8. Collect bottles for recycling and donate the funds to charity
9. Write letters to residents of an aged care home
10. Pick up litter from a local beach, park or playground
11. Sing or act in a performance at an aged care home
12. Collect items to sell at a school fair
13. Set tables at a soup kitchen
14. Write thank you cards to emergency service personnel
Community service project ideas for high school students
15. Organize a car wash and donate the profits to charity
16. Create and distribute posters for an animal shelter adoption program
17. Get creative in the kitchen and bake for a school bake sale
18. Collect and donate blankets for a homeless shelter
19. Teach elderly friends and neighbors how to download e-books
20. Collect grocery coupons and donate them to a local food bank
21. Walk an elderly or busy neighbor’s dog
22. Learn how to knit and make blankets for animal shelters
23. Help clean up a neighbors yard after a storm
24. Establish a pen pal program at your school
25. Bake treats for an aged care home
26. Establish a school recycling program
Community service ideas for college students
27. Join a language exchange group to help people practice English
28. Volunteer with a political party whose policies align with your values
29. Clean cages at an animal shelter
30. Coach a youth sports team
31. Volunteer at a thrift or charity shop
32. Organise a park or beach clean up
33. Collect and donate unused cosmetics, toiletries and sanitary items to women’s shelters
34. Volunteer to buddy new students at your college
35. Organise and host a book club
36. Setup and manage social media accounts for a charity or non-profit
37. Tutor high school students in subjects you are good at
38. Host a study group
39. Volunteer as an usher at a community theatre group
40. Organize a fashion/ clothes swap event
41. Host a used book sale and donate the funds to charity
42. Volunteer at a college student club that is aligned with your interests
43. Contribute to a community radio segment
44. Volunteer at a summer camp
45. Paint over graffiti around campus and the community
46. Host free reading groups at a library
47. Organise a cosmetics container collection, sort and return the products for recycling
48. Create petitions and collect signatures for causes close to your heart
Community service project ideas for adults
49. Participate in community garden busy bees
50. Join in a local school’s clean-up day
51. Volunteer with a church to help with maintenance
52. Sew or knit blankets for sick babies in hospital
53. Volunteer as a referee for a sports competition
54. Arrange a blood donation drive at your workplace
55. Participate in a charity fun run
56. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
57. Sort donations for disaster appeals
58. Organize a charity fundraising morning tea
59. Foster an animal from the animal shelter
60. Make a bee hotel or bird feeder for your street
61. Volunteer at community tree planting event
62. Start a free little library in your front yard
63. Donate your time and skills at a repair cafe
64. Deliver for meals on wheels
65. Mentor a student or recent graduate interested in your career trajectory
66. Start a neighborhood welcome committee
67. Teach a class at a community center
68. Volunteer in a school canteen
69. Train and care for a service dog, guide dog or support dog
70. Host dress and attire workshops for job seekers
71. Help an elderly neighbour with gardening and lawn mowing
72. Volunteer as a town or city guide to provide tourists with information about your region
73. Start a neighborhood watch program in your area
74. Arrange a collection of essential items for people impacted by a natural disaster
75. Drive senior citizens to appointments
76. Donate gifts to holiday appeals
77. Contribute goods and time to a school fete
78. Sew outfits for a school or community theatre production
79. Donate unused electronic devices and computers to refugee centers
80. Volunteer on a non-profit board
81. Host an Earth Day event
82. Collect pet food for an animal shelter
83. Volunteer at a hospital greeting patients and visitors
84. Host free resume writing workshops for job seekers
85. Cook food for emergency service workers
86. Learn first aid and register as a community first responder
87. Volunteer at a wildlife rescue center helping to care for sick and injured animals
88. Advocate for a cause you care about
89. Donate food to a food bank or food pantry
90. Host guided walks in your community
91. Volunteer to be part of community focus groups to share your opinions on various issues
92. Teach people how to register to vote
93. Bath and groom animals at an animal shelter
94. Volunteer at a toy library to mend and repair damaged toys
95. Host a holiday meal for people in your workplace that don’t have family nearby
96. Give a gardening seminar or workshop at a community garden
97. Volunteer as a crisis counsellor
98. Sponsor an animal in a local zoo or wildlife park
99. Volunteer at a park run event, guiding participants on the course
How to get started in a community service project
Now that you have considered the list of community service project ideas, it is time to get involved. Contact relevant charities, non-profits and other organizations in your area to register your interest with them. Highlight any notable skills you have that would be of benefit to the role and the organization. For example, if you are an HR professional wanting to run a resume writing workshop for job seekers, be sure to let the organization know that you have experience in that field.
If you are wanting to support your neighbors, you could let them know you are available to help by putting flyers in their letterboxes. Be sure to include on the flyer your contact details and the types of assistance you can offer.
You could also check Facebook community groups and shopping center notice boards for upcoming community events and organizations that are looking to recruit volunteers.
If you’d like to participate in an activity or event that isn’t available in your community, you could set up a program and run it. This article will guide you through the nine steps of starting a volunteer program.
There are many types of community service project ideas to get involved with. These can be formal activities such as volunteering with a registered charity or non-profit, or something more informal like helping an elderly neighbor with everyday tasks.
With so many community service projects out there, you can find one that is perfectly aligned with your passions, skill and interests. Whether it be languages, craft, baking, marketing, gardening, helping in a homeless shelter, or anything in between, there is a community service project out there for you.
About Rosterfy
Rosterfy exists to connect communities to events and causes they are passionate about through volunteer and paid workforce management technology. Our proven end to end technology allows charities, events and nonprofit organizations to recruit, register, screen, train, manage and report with ease, replacing manual processes with automations to better engage and retain your volunteers and paid staff.
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