Looking for ideas on ways you can create a project to give back to a cause you care about? Look no further! Check out these great project ideas to help you get started!
Elementary Grades and Up
- If you love playing a musical instrument, organize a benefit concert and send the donations to an organization that buys musical instruments for schools or kids in need.
- If you love food, organize a bake sale and donate all the money you collect to your favorite local nonprofit.
- If you have gently used toys, puzzles or games you’re not using anymore, donate them to an adoption agency, a local youth club, or Goodwill.
- If you love to read, keep elderly neighbors company by setting up a regular book club or find a senior center.
Middle School Grades and Up
- If you see the need for pedestrian safety, research how you can help others in your community cross streets safely nears schools, shops or public transportation.
- Teach others in your community about philanthropy! You can show the power of 3Ts and encourage others to commit to daily or weekly acts of service.
- Get your friends to help you host a luncheon or dog wash where you ask for donations for a specific nonprofit or charity. You can ask local businesses to donate the items needed and the attendees to donate money in exchange for the service you are providing.
- If you love summer camp or competitive sports, research how you can help kids with disabilities participate in a wilderness camp (like Easterseals) or Special Olympics.
High School Grades
- If you’re into engineering, research what’s needed in your community. You could build a little library for a neighborhood in need, a bookshelf for a kid’s bedroom in a new Habitat for Humanity home, a bat house for people with too many pesky bugs, repair fences, etc.
- If you’re tired of bullying in your neighborhood, create posters and TikTok videos or Insta reels with positive messages so others know they’re not alone.
- Volunteer your time at a local nonprofit. If you’re not sure where to start, find your local United Way, Food Bank or Humane Society.
- Start a philanthropy club that meets regularly to organize random acts of kindness or collection drives through friendly competition. Ask local businesses for prizes to incentivize participation!
If you don’t see how your passions connect to the needs you see, it’s time to get creative!
- If you’re passionate about art and you see hunger as a problem, consider making art and selling it for donations you’ll give to your local food bank.
- If you love hanging out with your friends and you see local nonprofits who need items donated, convince your friends to help you with a collection drive. School nurses offices usually need extra kid’s clothes or coats. Homeless shelters usually need hygiene items (like toothpaste/toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, etc.). Animal shelters need toys and food. Local nonprofits often have lists of most needed items on their websites.
- If you’re passionate about making things like slime, duct tape creations or friendship bracelets then start a business and donate the profits to your favorite local nonprofit or charity.