Tag Archive: community service

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.

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/

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.

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.

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.

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/.

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.

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.