Service Project Ideas
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Current Service Opportunities
Easy ways to help
- Decorate Lunch Bags for Meals on Wheels or Dorothy Day
- Paws for Cause Walk as a troop to raise money for ROAR
- Visit Build a Bear and donate to Danbury, Women's Center Shelter
- Create Gingerbread houses to be auctioned off at the Boys and Girls Club
- Create Bitrthday boxes for Danbury Interfaith Aids Minitsry
- Jesse lee pumpkin Patch - Decorate pumpkins and Donate to Ballard Green
- Deliver decorated pumpkins to Laurel Ridge on Halloween
- Do art projects with seniors at a local nursing home
- Make Valentines for Veterans
- Make holiday decorations for Laurel Ridge
- Food Pantry collection for Thanksgiving
- Manicures for Laurel Ridge residents
- Sponsor a family for Christmas gifts through Danbury Welfare Dept
- Scarecrow Project - collect old worn clothing and offer to build full scarecrows for a local business. Use old T-shirt or pillow case for head. Build a frame with garden stakes. Customers can buy one for their yard so this can be a fund raising project. Practically Green has participated in the past.
- Make Tissue Paper Flowers and reuse tin cans covered in construction paper to make bouquets. Donate to Ridgefield Crossings Teaches: Reusing, Art, Giving to others
- Caroling at Laurel Ridge
- Decorate shop windows at Halloween
- The Cody Walk
- Dorothy Day Collections
- Festival of Trees
- Founders Hall Wreaths
- Kid's Care Club affiliated with Danbury Hospital
- Ridgebury Elementary Kid's Care Club - Holiday Shoe boxes
Dorothy Day Hospitality House: Through Ridgebury Elementary School PTA Sandwich Making Committee, our troop donated the funds to cover the costs of one day's sandwich making and helped prepare the bagged lunches. We've also donated GS cookies and halloween candy to add to the lunch packs.
The seniors & staff at Ridgefield Congregate Housing welcomed our troop to perform a variety show: singing, telling jokes, music... They also appreciate visits either in the community room or 1:1- an intergenerational experience. We baked and decorated, too. A one time visit or regularly scheduled visits are all appreciated.
http://peacepassers.org Soccer balls, jerseys, shorts, cleats/turfs & socks can be donated to the Peace Passers. This can be done through direct contribution of equipment you have or by organizing a collection drive with your team/community. If you don’t have equipment we also greatly appreciate any funding support you can contribute. There is no greater feeling than passing the love of soccer on to others. We challenge you to participate in putting your used soccer equipment back into play. To donate soccer equipment (new or used). Email us @ peacepassersinfo@gmail.com to find out current shipping locations
Read to grow - Collect books to help a connecticut organization that is promoting literacy for babies and children and also to promote reading in the home. How to of hosting a book drive for them click here and here for drop off information. They are located on Branford, CT past New Haven about 1 1/2 hours away.
Ridgefield Food Pantry - Host a food drive at a local grocery store, set up a collection box, or run a troop collection for the Ridgefield Food Pantry. Hand out shopping lists to everyone who enters a grocery store. Call Carole at the Social Services office in Town hall and ask for specific needs of the pantry and create a shopping list accordingly. Call grocery store to request a date. That amount of food is dropped off at the Rec Ctr, not Town Hall, so it's always good to call them and let them know you'll be making a drop off. Last year one troop collected 750 lbs of food and over $250 in gift cards.
Friends of New Beginnings Family Academy
Collected books for classroom libraries Contact school to see what grade level of book or supplies the school needs.
Collected books for classroom libraries Contact school to see what grade level of book or supplies the school needs.
Collect new toothbrushes to donate to Cape Cares. That medical brigade of dentists and dental hygienists travel to Honduras on their own dime to provide free dental care in remote villages. Someone from the CC Team will come to your troop meeting for an educational and cultural presentation. This project has been Ridgefield townwide for years. Several articles in R.Press. In addition to colleting toothbrushes at elementary schools and R.Rec Center and dentist offices, we made cards to give to the children of Honduras as well. http://uscenterforcitizendiplomacy.org/share-stories/entry/christel-autuori/ There is no cost from troop unless you opt to donate funds or purchase more toothbrushes. No toothpaste- it's too heavy to transport. This takes very little troop time. Toothburhses must be delivered in Ridgefield by early February as the Team heads to Honduras in Feb.
Kids against hunger packages meals to be delivered locally (Bridgeport the day we went) and abroad (Haiti the day we went). After an overview of the organization and a quick training session, we began packaging meals. This involved scooping the correct amount of different foods into a bag, weighing it, sealing it, and loading into cartons. It was a great way for the girls to use their hands to help hungry children. You can arrange to attend a public pack event or schedule a private packing. They also really need donations in order to purchase food for packaging.
The Pajama Program has a local chapter in Bridgeport and a reading center in Yonkers. Girls can collect new pajamas and new books to donate to children in foster care and other children who need to know what it feels like to climb into pjs and have a book of their own. For some, this will be the first pair of pjs that have ever owned. Collection can take place off-site. For on-site opportunities, girls can become readers (must be 16 years old ) and read books to the kids that come into the Yonkers Center. Pajama program on Oprah
Share Joy International Focuses on three distinct areas of charitable giving - used furniture and clothing collection, child sponsorship, and sustainable agriculture. They are focusing on helping the underserved locally and in Haiti. Contact Isabel at isabel@sharejoyinternational.org to find out what items are in need and how you can best help.
Blue to Green
Collect old jeans to be turned into insulation for Habitat for Humanity homes. Sometimes that they have local collection places and then there is no shipping. Otherwise, you need to box and mail the jeans. We focused on really old denim that could not be worn by anyone any more so that is was a true recycling project and suggested that jeans that simply don't fit be donated to a thrift store or passed onto others. They also sent us an insulation sample for the girls to see and feel. Regarding a cost estimate, if you reach out to transportation/shipping carrier (FedEx, UPS, etc.) with the weight, zip codes (it would be sent to Chandler, AZ), etc - they should be able to provide this information.
Collect old jeans to be turned into insulation for Habitat for Humanity homes. Sometimes that they have local collection places and then there is no shipping. Otherwise, you need to box and mail the jeans. We focused on really old denim that could not be worn by anyone any more so that is was a true recycling project and suggested that jeans that simply don't fit be donated to a thrift store or passed onto others. They also sent us an insulation sample for the girls to see and feel. Regarding a cost estimate, if you reach out to transportation/shipping carrier (FedEx, UPS, etc.) with the weight, zip codes (it would be sent to Chandler, AZ), etc - they should be able to provide this information.
Find other service project ideas on these websites
http://www.dosomething.org/
We love teens. They are creative, active, wired…and frustrated that our world is so messed up. DoSomething.org harnesses that awesome energy and unleashes it on causes teens care about. Almost every week, we launch a new national campaign. The call to action is always something that has a real impact and doesn’t require money, an adult, or a car. With a goal of 5 million active members by 2015, DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the US for teens and social change.
We love teens. They are creative, active, wired…and frustrated that our world is so messed up. DoSomething.org harnesses that awesome energy and unleashes it on causes teens care about. Almost every week, we launch a new national campaign. The call to action is always something that has a real impact and doesn’t require money, an adult, or a car. With a goal of 5 million active members by 2015, DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the US for teens and social change.
