Ideas For Your Family

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To try today

Want to try "family service," but don't have time for a mission trip to a third world country? Try these quick and easy ideas with the kids today. Drop us a line to tell us how it went, or send your own suggestions our way.

  1. Bake cookies, brownies or cupcakes and take them to a neighbor—especially someone you don’t know well, or is currently in need. Follow-up with a phone call to check in with them.
  2. Do extra work around the house and surprise a parent or sibling by doing their chores for them (i.e. clean your sister’s room or do the dishes after dinner for Dad?). Leave a note, or just let the tidiness do the talking.
  3. Clean your neighborhood by taking a walk with your family around the park or the block (or a more littered public place) to pick up trash. See how many grocery bags you can fill.
  4. Visit the elderly and give them cards, pictures or other crafts your family has made. You can call the local nursing home for visiting hours.
  5. Play an online game called Freerice. It's a fun way for adults and teenagers to earn rice for the UN World Food Program which helps feed hungry people all over the world. The warning on their site states: “This game may make your smarter. It may improve your speaking, writing, thinking, grades, job performance…” So, be careful!
  6. Donate goods (books, household items, toys, clothing) and help others do the same. Walk around the neighborhood and offer to bring items to the Salvation Army, Goodwill or another charity that accepts second hand items. Make this a part of your "Spring Cleaning" routine.
  7. Write a letter to an old teacher or mentor telling him/her what a great impact they’ve made on your life. Have the non-writers in your family draw a picture to include in the envelope.
  8. Visit a playground with lemonade and baked goods. Find a basketball court where teens are playing pick-up basketball. Offer them the food and drink when they’re taking a break.
  9. Hold a spontaneous car wash for your neighbors. Kids love water, suds and getting soaked!
  10. Shovel the snow off a neighbor’s driveway and sidewalk, rake and dispose of leaves from neighbor’s lawn, pull the weeds from the garden, mow the lawn.

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To try this month

Try these ideas this week, and let us know how your efforts go!

  1. Help prepare bulk mailings for a favorite non-profit organization. Call ahead and find out the organization’s needs and make plans to visit regularly and stuff envelopes.
  2. Paint over graffiti or offer to paint rooms at the homeless shelter. Call shelters and ask if they have rooms which could use a fresh coat of bright paint.
  3. Gather and deliver items to people in need. Try the local prison, hospital, nursing home, homeless shelters and/or churches. Ask the person in charge how you can be most helpful.
  4. Make and deliver a gift to the secretary of a non-profit organization your family supports.
  5. Befriend someone at the local nursing home. Visit often, talk, listen, share stories, bring gifts, play board or card games, tell jokes, do puzzles, read out loud, listen to music, watch a movie, take walks.
  6. Babysit your friends' or neighbors' children so they can have an economical night out. Allow your kids to help care for the children -- older kids are often the most entertaining and delightful distraction for younger children. Better yet, let the kids sleep over your house so the parents can have the entire night free!
  7. Invite the new kid in your child's class over for a play date. Have the mom come over for coffee for the last hour. Give her helpful hints about the best grocery store, the most reliable handyman, etc.
  8. Teach an elderly person how to use a computer. Even your teenagers and pre-teens can help with that (perhaps better than you can yourself ☺)
  9. Bring your (well-behaved!) dog to visit people at the nursing home. Make sure you get full permission at the facility before you attempt to bring Fido through the doors!
  10. Call elderly people who live on their own to see if they need any groceries, trips to the pharmacy or library, help with pet care or help with minor household repairs.
  11. Purchase livestock for a poor family through Heifer International – a flock of chicks only costs $20 and can help a family by providing them with eggs to eat and sell!
  12. Sponsor a child through World Vision for $35/month or Compassion for $32/month. This could be the beginning of a wonderful relationship between your family and a child in another country who could use your help, support and encouragement. You can begin this relationship by writing letters and sending small gifts.
  13. Take a field trip with your kids and their friends to the local blood bank. The kids will learn the process of donating blood is easy, almost completely painless and a great way to give monthly!
  14. Make a care package for a soldier (see www.anysoldier.com or www.treatsfortroops.com) and make sure you include a personal note. Warning: don’t place non-food items and food items in the same package as the food items (after the travel time) often begin to taste like the non-food items – ICK!).
  15. Send a note and homemade cookies with your kids to all the college students in your neighborhood.
  16. Clean a neighbor’s house when they’re away. There’s nothing like coming into a home that smells freshly cleaned. (Make sure you have permission, or it could be slightly awkward!)
  17. Support other students via Donors Choose, an online service that posts requests from teachers across the country for various classroom needs. This is a great way for kids to help decide where family giving goes as they can all relate to the needs of a school.
  18. Deliver canned goods and non-perishables to the local food pantry. Ask if any shifts need to be covered there.
  19. Become an afterschool tutor at the library – even older children can help a younger child learn to read and help them with their math skills. Call the local elementary school and ask if anyone needs extra help.
  20. Offer to feed the fish, pick up mail and water plants when your neighbors leave town for vacation. These are easy jobs for children to handle.
  21. Make an extra lasagna or casserole when you’re cooking dinner and bring it over to the neighbor who just had a new baby.
  22. Offer to give manicures (only if you’re good at it) to the ladies at the nursing home or Senior Citizens Center or offer a shoeshine for the gentlemen.
  23. Raise money out of the front yard by setting up a lemonade stand or yard sale together. Have kids make the lemonade and brownies and sort through toys/clothes/books. Have them decide on the selling prices of the items. Decide together how to give away the proceeds.
  24. Start a family micro-loan portfolio. Go to www.kiva.org and make family micro-loans to entrepreneurs in the developing world. Print out photos of those you are supporting!
  25. Stimulate creativity by giving each one in your family $5 and challenge them to use it to benefit someone else. Gather back the next day to celebrate and learn from everyone's efforts.

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To try this year

Ready for a longer-term challenge?

  1. Choose a charity race or walk for a cause you’re passionate about. Train for the race with your family, and teach your children about the cause as you prepare.
  2. Plan on honoring the Veterans you know for this year's Veteran's Day. Attend a parade. Write letters of thanks to those you know and those you don’t know.
  3. Write a letter to each of your family members and hand them out on Thanksgiving. Explain why you’re thankful for them. Get your children to do the same.
  4. Volunteer to ring the bell for the Salvation Army during the holidays. Dress warmly!
  5. Offer to read a book to an elderly person, or someone who has vision impairment. Allow the person to choose an old favorite, or help them select something new from the library. All the readers in your family can do this.
  6. Take a life-saving class at your local hospital. Who know whom this could potentially help?
  7. Give an elderly person a ride to the polls on Election Day. (Even if they aren’t affiliated with the same political party as you!)
  8. "National Bread Day” is in November. Teach your children how to make bread and deliver loaves to friends, neighbors, or people who are hungry.
  9. Create a neighborhood newspaper -- it's a great way for older children to become active in their communities as well as letting everyone feel more "connected" to those around them. Consequently, you might also be more apt to find out if there’s a need your family could meet.
  10. Adopt a mile of roadside to keep clean. Work facing oncoming traffic, keep off the roadway and stay at least five feet away from the edge of the road surface. Also, forget your fashion sense and wear orange or something reflective! Clean up during the daylight hours, and if it rains… take a break!
  11. Organize a penny drive at your school and donate all the proceeds to your favorite charity. Who knows… maybe you’ll even get nickels!
  12. Sign up for a home-building project with Habitat for Humanity. Bring your hammer, wear protective shoes, and have a great time.
  13. Collect blankets, warm clothing, boots and outerwear for the homeless. Bring them to a shelter.
  14. Grow a garden and give away some of your excess vegetables and flowers to people around you. Who can pass up a juicy tomato, just picked green beans or a bouquet of flowers?
  15. Host a neighborhood soup night or barbeque. Invite everyone on the block to have soup and bread at your house or a barbeque in your backyard. It’ll help you get to know those neighbors you never see and bring people together in your community.

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