If you’re looking for ways to keep your kids entertained, humble and busy this summer, summer service projects are a great way to do that.
Tomorrow marks the start of Summer for us and this morning as I dropped our oldest son off at school, I started to think of all the things I wanted to do with my kids this summer. That’s when I decided that Summer Service Projects for Kids were a must-do on our summer bucket list.
What is a Service Project?
A service project can also be known as community service and these are tasks performed unpaid in which helps your local community. These are volunteer projects where you volunteer your time and services to help someone or an organization for a good cause.
I also call these “good feeling projects” because once you’re done completing them, you will feel good because you helped someone or something.
Do Service Projects Cost Money?
Typically, no. Most service projects are free. The only time you may find a service project to cost money, is if you are also donating products or money to help an organization. For example, you may donate personal care items to your local homeless shelters and pay for that yourself.
Okay, let’s talk about the best summer service project ideas for kids…
The Best Summer Service Projects for Kids
Volunteer at a homeless shelter – you can donate your time to help feed people at your local homeless shelter. I know our local shelter is always in need of volunteers.
Volunteer at an animal shelter – Our local animal shelters are in need of food, old blankets and towels but they also need volunteers to help bathe, walk, feed and care for the animals. They often even need help cleaning the pet crates/cages. It would be a fun experience for kids that love working with animals.
Gather cheap school supplies to donate to local schools/organizations in need – A few years back, a friend and I took our kids and set up a back to school donation drive at our local Walmart (we got approval from the manager first). We passed out flyers of a school supply list and asked people going in, if they’d donate an item or two. We ended up collecting over 528 school items which we used to create 33 backpacks filled of school supplies. These were donated to our local women’s and children’s shelter for families that are in abusive situations and often leave their homes with nothing. It was so fulfilling and I loved that our kids were able to be part of that.
Visit a local senior citizen center – Our local senior centers often need volunteers to help take care of the seniors, read to them, have game night, etc. You can call ahead and see what sort of services are needed.
Create a lemonade stand and donate the money made – This summer my son really wants to host a lemonade stand. I told him if he wanted, he could take the money or half, and donate it to a local organization in need. People love to donate to good causes and kids will feel so great donating money they earned themselves.
Donate items to local children hospitals – Our local children’s hospital is always in need of new toys to help sick kids feel safe as well as blankets. Have your child collect these items and hand-deliver them to their local hospital of choice.
Pick up trash in the park – Our environment is better when we all work to take care of it. You can have your kids volunteer to go pick up trash once a week at different local parks in your area. Keeping parks clean for future generations is a must!
The best thing about these service project ideas is that kids of any age can help. Whether you volunteer with them or not, kids as young as 2 years old can help make a huge difference with their time this Summer. Plus, the experience and humbleness they learn, is priceless.
