Community Refresh Projects

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6 Community Service Ideas You Cannot Afford To Ignore

What fires you up? What kind of issues do you care about? What is that one thing you consider doing to make your community better than you found it? It is hard to answer all these questions with certainty but fact is, there is a lot more you can do than you can ever imagine. The following tips will make it easy for you to come up with ideas that can help your community.

Home Improvement

You would be surprised to find the kind of things you can do to help people in your community live better lives. It gets better if you have a skill that people need day in day out. Visit that elderly couple during winter just to find out if they keep warm. Take a look at their AC and heating system. If the system has glitches, offer to fix it for them free of charge. If by any chance you cannot fix the system, consider consulting AC & heating experts to fix the system. At the end of the day, what matters is doing something kind for someone in your community.

elderly

Home Safety

So many accidents occur every year as a result of accidents at home that can otherwise be avoided. With that in mind, volunteer to teach other in your community basic home safety tips. If you are skilled at first aid, even better. Offer to teach other basic first aid skills. You may not know it but by the time you are done, you will have saved a life or two.

Energy

The cost of living is always heading North. It gets worse with electricity and other utility bills that come knocking every month. Embark on a door to door campaign to help people in your neighborhood learn what it takes to save energy. Let them know of alternative sources of energy and remind them what it takes to save energy. This could as simple as reminding people the importance of turning switches off when they are not in use.

Environment

Plant trees if you can. That may sound like biting more than you can chew but it isn’t. Imagine visiting your neighborhood ten years later just to stumble upon mature trees you planted at a local park. Alternatively, you can organize a cleanup exercise during a weekend.

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Car wash

This is where money comes in. No one can offer to wash someone’s car free of charge. But for the sake of making your community better you can. Offer to wash your neighbors’ car, not for free but for a fee. Then donate the amount you make to a shelter or an orphan home. To make the whole exercise fun, offer to do it with a group of 5 to 10 people.

car wash

Visit a children’s home

Imagine growing up without the company of your loved ones. It is sad to say the least. Now imagine a stranger showing up one day where you live and showering you with the kind of love and tenderness a father or mother can offer his or her children. The feeling is priceless. On that note, visit a children’s home with your friends and offer to play with the children. Then remember to carry toys, foodstuff and gifts for the orphans.

Choosing the best work gear for community projects

While community projects are a fun thing to do that will benefit your whole neighborhood, prior to starting the process, it is important to choose the right gear, namely clothes and shoes that you can wear. While old sneakers and worn out jeans may be very comfortable, they sometimes don’t provide enough protection and safety that specialized work wear would. The best thing to wear while building a playground, planting trees or collecting and managing the recycling of your neighborhood, is overalls that have plenty of pockets, and work boots that will keep your feet dry and safe from any injuries. You may have to spend a long time outside in the dirt, digging, fixing and installing, while the weather conditions may not be most favorable. Here are some tips and qualities to think of when choosing and purchasing the work clothes.

COMMUNITY PROJECT PHOTO

 1.     Safety

The main feature that differentiates the work shoes from other kinds is their main function – to protect your feet and ensure that they are dry and warm at all times. There are various factors from which these shoes can protect you, depending on the project that you will be working on, of course, but these may be – hazardous conditions, such as exposure to chemicals and oils, injury or wounds while carrying large and heavy objects, extreme weather conditions, in particular cold or rainy weather, burns, electric shock and the possibility of slipping. The right shoes not only will ensure that your feet are not cold, but they might have a metal front end, usually made from steel, that will protect you from heavy object injuring your feet, and that is something that no sneakers or simple boots will be able to provide.

 2.     Quality

While some work shoes are made with high quality leather, others are from a more coarse material, and nowadays with advanced technology, there are special materials that can be waterproof, or provide maximum insulation or balance, and these can be Cordura, Gore-tex, Cambrelle, Thisulate or Vibram. Choosing the shoes on the quality of the material that they are made from is quite important, and when you buy a product of top quality, it will ensure durability. The same applies to work clothes, it is best to invest in 1 pair of top quality overalls that you can wear for years, instead of having to buy new work clothes for each project that you decide to participate in.

 3.     Comfort

Some of the best work boots are also most comfortable. There is no doubt, that this, in the long run, will have an overall effect on your productivity. It is usually advised to purchase shoes half or a whole size bigger, in order to have extra room to wear thick socks. Since you will be wearing these shoes during extended period of time, while working on a particular community project, if your feet will hurt from calluses and blisters, or if the shoes will be too tight, you are bound to feel uncomfortable and be less efficient.

 4.     Appearance

When choosing the shoes that you will wear outside, you must choose the model that you like the look of, so you will actually like to wear, as community projects are something you volunteer for and do with your own interest at stake. There is a choice between shoes and boots. While the shoes are more flexible and light, boots are more durable and protect you from more external factors. Boots also ensure that you cannot spring your ankle, if you slip, that said, however, they do tend to be heavier, regardless of the price and brand.

 5.     Durability

When purchasing work gear it is important to consider durability, good boots will last for many years, and will not need maintenance, only perhaps water- and dirt-resistant spray application once in a while.

Exercising with your neighbors as a community project!

With more and more people subscribing to gym membership throughout the country, and the emphasis on healthy lifestyle, it is only reasonable that your neighbors end up at the same gym as you! Oftentimes the modern men and women are busy with their jobs, hobbies and children, to pay attention to others, and if asked, some don’t even know the names of their neighbors, let alone their kids’. While paying for gym membership, and exercising at your own convenience may be one option, instead, you can also organize outdoor bootcamps and team exercises for your neighbors in your back yard. This will not only have major health benefits for your families, but will bring you closer and make you stronger as a community. By paying attention and taking initiative in organizing such group fitness, you can change the world you live in directly.

The first step in organizing these neighborly workouts is creating a fitness program to follow, and this can be done as a community task- through brainstorming, you can come up with a great workout plan that will suit everyone and incorporate it into everyone’s schedule. Exercising on the weekends may be the ideal option, and in making the plan, it is useful to use various online resources to find the exact exercises that will be beneficial for various age groups and stamina.

Another issue that needs to be addressed is purchasing workout clothes and shoes, and this is best done collectively as well. It is only reasonable that you would want to choose the best fitness gear in terms of clothes and shoes. In a society where there is an abundance of choice in almost everything, there is definitely a wide variety of gym wear to choose from. While looking and asking what your friends wear, and looking at people who go into the gym, there is a guideline of what to look for and how to choose the sportswear correctly, to enhance the results that you are expecting from your fitness programs.

Exercise ShoesWhen choosing the shoes you want to buy, feel the material, and see what it is made of – wearing a low-quality shoe may not only result in painful blisters, but also a sprung ankle, and that’s a good-case scenario. While choosing your footwear, make sure that it is made of breathable fabric, thus ensuring that your feet can be cooled down during exercises that will make your feet sweat. Not only will this prevent the odor, but it will also improve the skin and health of your feet. Another feature that ideal sneakers must have is perfect weight – they must not pull your feet and you have to have freedom of motion while wearing them. While all these features might seem like a lot to ask from a shoe, there is a fantastic comprehensive list of the best exercise shoes that will help you decide and choose the perfect shoes for you, and you can find it at http://exerciseshoeguide.com/.

The website addresses the questions of which shoes to buy for spinning classes or Zumba, not only did the authors spend time and carried out research regarding which shoes are the best ones, but they are also owners of a fitness center in Texas, so they have the knowledge and the experience in helping others. With so many shoes of various shapes and styles, it is important to get an expert opinion, and who else but those, who are directly involved in the Health and Fitness industry? And while it is important to consider the characteristics of one shoe compared to another, one must not forget, that these vary for men and women, while the female sections are filled with bright and colorful sneakers, those for men are more conservative, yet powerful and durable.

 

 

 

 

Top 5 ways to interest people in community projects

 

 

 

There are numerous issues that can and are better addressed as a community, first of all because getting various opinions can provide the best solution to some issues, then because there may be people in your community with special skills who can do things faster and easier than anyone else, and third, because community projects are done by people who are your neighbors, and if, carried out properly, some projects and ideas will prove beneficial to everyone. While this idea of working as a community sounds great, the biggest challenge is getting started and getting people interested enough to start acting upon ideas. Here are 5 ways to get everyone involved:

1.     Do something fun

One of the key points to interest people in what you are doing, is doing something that is fun and exciting. If you position your project as something boring and tedious, it is highly unlikely that anyone would want to be part of it. If, for example, you would like to build a new playground for children in your neighborhood, then the best way to interest people is to show them colorful, bright pictures of the possible designs and telling them about the wide range of options there is. By evaluating the skills and qualifications that some of the members in your community have, you can engage them in various activities, that involve those skills.

2.     Be pro-active

Waiting for the last minute, to decide that you need to take care of the park in your neighborhood and create a separate section for dogs and their owners, will rarely bring good results. Being proactive and determining the needs of the community and creating ways to ameliorate and introduce changes that will be beneficial to all members is something that has to be done in advance. When you have a clear picture of the things that can be addressed, you can start planning, and then, in time, implementing the required actions.

3.     Host get-togethers

Hosting regular meetings and get-togethers with other community members is essential, as this is the time when you can use brainstorming to get ideas about projects, best ways to tackle existing issues and determining the steps in which various activities need to be carried out. While inviting friends over may be a great way to spend time, hosting a community evening may be a somewhat more challenging task. First of all, you may need to get to know people better, and while some may be in a good mood, others may feel cranky as they will be coming after work. Setting up the correct atmosphere where people will feel relaxed and know that their voice will be heard can be done through various techniques, one of which is using essential oils through the best aromatherapy diffuser, some very useful advice on the various effects that essential oils have on the mood and how to use them, can be found on http://teatreeoilhq.com.

How to start a community book project

books projects

Step one: Find your target market/goal

It is imperative to know why your community is coming together to create a book drive and to have a specific goal for the book project. Perhaps there is a local school which needs books, a library was flooded and needs its books replaced, or you are gathering books to send overseas to children who otherwise do not have books to read and learn from. Having a specific purpose will help to set collection goals and know how to better set up, and manage the project.

Step two: Find a collection site

Depending upon how big your book project is, you may need more than one collection site. Some places which may be willing to be a book drop off site are: local libraries, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, local businesses, fire departments, or children’s hospitals. The important part to finding collections sites is to find high traffic, conveniently located placed where people can easily drop off their books. Be sure to get permission from each collection site prior to any book collecting begins. Another important item to ensure you receive a lot of donated books, is to make sure there are visible signs and collection bins so people know exactly where to drop off their books. Be sure to include the mission for the book project at every collection site, as this will encourage new donors to give and allows the community to see where their efforts will be helping.

Step three: Promoting and marketing

Be sure to properly promote and market the book drive project so that the entire community is aware the event is taking place, where the drop off locations are, the mission of the book drive, and how long the drive is lasting. Another key piece of information to make sure the public is aware of, is the condition of the books you are accepting, as well as what genera’s you are, and are not, accepting. You do not want to receive donated books which have missing paged or water damage, or to receive books with explicit content. There are a wide variety of ways to advertise the book drive including: word of mouth, flyers around town in local businesses, libraries, and schools, via social media, as well as through email.for more details, go straight from this source.

Step four: Organize the collected books

Separate and organize the collected books to ensure all are in acceptable condition and have appropriate subject matter. You may also need to separate the books if they are going to various locations.

books projects

Step five: Deliver the collected books

Once all of the books have been collected, sorted and packed up, you are ready to deliver them to the previous place of contact who will be anxiously awaiting its new reading materials at http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/group-discusses-campuscommunity-book-project-selection/

Top 5 community projects for teenagers

community projects for teenagers

1. Collection Drives:

There are plenty of organizations across the nation are doing various types of collection drives. Have your teenager connect with a local collection drive and see how they can help gather food, clothing or other items. Encourage your student to set up collection sites, create awareness posters, and even to use social media to promote the event.

2. Community Beautification:

Work with local officials, the police, and businesses to help identify areas around the community which need to be spruced up. Form a group of people to go these areas and fix, repair, paint and clean areas which have been abandoned, neglected or vandalized. Contact local hardware stores to get necessary items like paint, paint brushes, tools, work gloves, and trash bags donated. Teams can paint fences, fix broken playground equipment, rake leaves for the elderly, pick up trash from city streets, or plant flowers. Every time the teen passes the site they helped repair and spruce up, they will remember their hard work and be able to take pride in seeing the fruits of their labor.

3. Sporting Event:

For student athletes, creating a sporting event or sports camp may prove to be not only fun but extremely rewarding. Teenagers could organize a charity 5K to raise funds for a specific community needs, or hold a one week basketball camp in a local park for underprivileged children. Work with adult supervisors, or coaches, to ensure the event goes off without a hitch and together you can create an event that is not only getting the community exercising, but also bringing a lot of joy to lives.for more updates, read full blog post.

4. Tutor:

National Honor Society students and other students, who excel scholastically, are perfect candidates to help tutor younger children. Contact the elementary schools and see if teachers could use you after school to help children in lower grades. Not only will this ease the load of teachers and help young children learn, but teens will quickly become these young children’s heroes.more teenagers projects at http://generationon.org/teens/make-your-mark/projects.

community projects for teenagers

5. Conclusion:

Visiting nursing homes does not rate high on many teenagers to do list; however, there is arguably nothing more meaningful than receiving a heartfelt hug from an elderly person with whom you just visited with. Elderly people love getting teenage visitors and receiving company. Teenagers can play games, sing songs, play a musical instrument, do puzzles, or go for a walk around the grounds with the elderly in the nursing homes. An hour visit from a teenager really can be the highlight of an elderly person’s week and give them something to look forward too, as well as remind them they are not forgotten.

The benefits of a playground for a local neighborhood

community playground-shot

Physical benefits:

In 2010 it was reported by the Surgeon General that one out of every three children in the United States is either overweight or obese. By having a local neighborhood playground, children have the much needed access to playground equipment and a safe place to play. Having the proper playground equipment not only provides endless hours of fun, but also gets children moving and exercising at the same time – without even thinking about it. Slides offer climbing exercises and reinforce hand eye balance, monkey bars increase upper body strength, balance beams increase a child’s balance and when combined with other pieces of equipment, a child will receive a full body, heart healthy, cardiovascular workout.

Social benefits:

Part of the appeal of having a local neighborhood playground for parents is the social opportunity it offers their children, as well as themselves. Children naturally learn to take turns, to share, and to engage with others by playing with their peers on a playground. Children also learn how to communicate and build off one other’s ideas by working collaboratively to create beautiful sand castles, make up games, and build ramps off playground structures. Parents also benefit mightily from this social interaction by getting to know their neighbors better, or to catch up with old friends, while their children play together on the playground.

Cognitive benefits:

Playground equipment has been proven to help smaller children’s brains develop, through a variety of sensory experiences and learning fine motor skills by crawling, running, and walking on various objects. It has been proven that a child’s brain development is the most critical in the first six years of his/her life, and that exercise and sensory play are two of the best methods for increase motor skills and brain function.read more reviews in their latest comments.

Confidence benefits:

There is nothing cooler as a parent than to see your child achieve something for the first time. Your child will be thrilled when they climb their first rock wall, cross the monkey bars on their own, or walk all the way across the balance beam without falling off.

community playground-shot

Children have the perfect opportunity to not only learn, and do new things, on a local neighborhood playground, but also to conquer any fears they may have. Children who are afraid of heights will learn they want to get pushed higher on the swing set and children, who are afraid of smaller spaces, will soon be squeezing into tunnels and climbing up slides. Playgrounds are an excellent tool to help children overcome fears and increase self confidence; all while having fun and exercising.their are lots of information that can be found at http://kaboom.org/.

How to build a community garden

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Step One: Engage Your Local Community

The first step to building a community garden is to engage your local community and find a group of like minded people who are interested in having a community garden. Speak with neighbors, local businesses and different organizations to learn what the issues are in the local community and how having a community garden could help eliminate some of these issues. Discuss where the garden could be, how it would be planted, maintained, and what the goals of the garden are. By getting everyone in the same page, it helps unite the community and energize those involved to see the garden become a reality.

Step Two: Identify the Resources Needed

It is obvious there will need to be a nice sized piece of land in order to establish a community garden, but there are also other items needed to bring this idea to life. It may be wise to consult with a local farmer, or bring in someone who has built a garden before, to get a better understanding of the items needed, such as a: fencing, boards, tractor to plow the land, or a hand tiller, etc. This is also an outstanding way to network with people in the community, share with them what you are doing, and see if they are willing to help. Networking and relationships will go a long way in determining the success of the community garden and is a great way to get others ideas, as well as expertise.check the website http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-create-a-community-garden/ for more detailed information.

Step Three: Choose a Garden Location

If you have not yet established a location for the community garden, now is the time to do so. Some locations are based upon visibility, while others are chosen because of their access and size. Having a clear plan as to why your community is establishing a garden is an essential element to determining the final location of the garden. Once you identify the ideal piece of land, check to find out who owns the land and discuss with them the concept of the community garden. It is important to have multiple locations picked out in case your first option is not available for use.

Step Four: Research the Land

Before you ever plant anything in the chosen site, make sure to do some research on the land to ensure the soil is safe for food growth. Take samples of the soil and have them analyzed to find out more specific details about your soil, including its quality and any potential food contaminates.follow our latest blog posts for more details.

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Step Five: Garden Design

Every community garden is unique and will be used to fulfill different needs. Design your community garden based on the needs of the community, size, location, as well around the overall mission of the garden.

Step Six: Get Planting

Now that all of the prep work has been done and the soil tilled, get ready to plant seeds and implement all you have learned along the way. Once the crops begin grow, be sure to let everyone in the community know, this will go a long way to gaining new supporters and potential donors to keep the garden running efficiently and effectively.

3 Community Projects with the Biggest Impact

peace bridge

Senior Centers:

Sadly, senior citizens are often forgotten about and can become extremely lonely in nursing homes or other care facilities. Seniors adore the young people who come to visit them and play games with them, and often this is the highlight of their week. Most cities across America have senior citizen centers which are always looking from young, energetic volunteers to interact with the residence. Reading a book, going for a walk, or playing a game with the elderly can truly make a world of difference and will not only brighten the days of the senior’s, but also be a great help and support to the staff at the facilities as well.

Military Troop Support:

Volunteering for military based support groups will not only prove to be extremely rewarding for anyone who chooses to get involved, but will also make a large impact in the lives of those who so bravely defend our freedoms. Organizations such as USO, Operation Gratitude and Operation Troop support are always looking for people to collect donated items which can then be packaged and shipped to military personnel who are deployed overseas. During Holiday’s organizations are also looking for volunteers to collect and wrap donated gifts, which will then be shipped to deployed military personnel, as well as their young children who may otherwise not receive presents. For deployed military, receiving care packaged and cards truly help bring a piece of home overseas, keep their spirits and morale high, and let them know they are appreciated for all of the numerous sacrifices they make for our nation on a daily basis.

The Environment:

A lot of young people have grown increasingly more aware of the environment and the many harmful practices which are drastically polluting and harming the eco-system. Young people have become passionate about helping the country become more “green,” and can help local communities through a wide array of extremely helpful and beneficial community projects. A lot of cities across the country have community gardens which always need help planting, weeding, and picking produce. These community gardens are a great way to interact with other community members, grow fresh produce and get a hands on education in helping the environment in a practical and sustainable manner. Volunteers could also spend their time at recycling plants, picking up trash on the side of the roads, or doing an awareness campaign.for more information, visit the original source.

peace bridge

Conclusion:

There are numerous ways for anyone to get active in giving back to their community. If one of these three ways does not peak your interest, contact a nonprofit in your area and see where there are needs, there are always organizations desperately in need of volunteers and would gladly welcome your helping hands. Volunteering in your community will not only help it grow, but will help it thrive and leave an everlasting impact.go to http://www.nrdc.org/water/ for more information.