Healthy Kids, Healthy Community
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER PROJECTS
Volunteer opportunities are all around us! If you're looking for a project for your family or a group of friends, scroll through this list of ideas. For several of these projects, you'll find contact names to call for information.
Help Edina Meals on Wheels: Carol Holz of Edina Meals on Wheels is eager for groups to make “extras” for their clients, including greeting cards, laminated placemats or other small gifts. (They serve about 40 people each day.) She also mentioned the need for 10 or 15 fleece or flannel bags to keep individual meals warm as the volunteers carry them from the car to the house in the winter. Volunteers would need sewing machines to complete this activity. For more information about the size of these coverings, or if you have any other questions about the needs at MOW, you can reach Carol at 952-292-2579.
Make sandwiches: Provide the ingredients for sandwiches (meat and cheese without condiments is best), then assemble and deliver them to Our Saviour’s Housing (www.oshousing.org) or Simpson Housing Services (www.simpsonhousing.org). (Other shelters might be interested as well.) The sandwiches are given out to the shelter guests the following morning. Contact the shelter’s volunteer coordinator (Christina at cgiese@simpsonhousing.org or Maryellen at volunteer@oshousing.org) beforehand to let them know how many sandwiches you plan to make and when you’ll be able to deliver them.
Create birthday bags: Assemble birthday gift bags for disadvantaged children. Invite each person to bring small new toys for children ages 3-12. Get everyone together for the assembly by placing 10 items in each gift bag. Then deliver them to a nearby shelter or food shelf. Cheerful Givers – www.cheerfulgivers.org -- has more complete instructions and a long list of shelters and food shelves throughout the Twin Cities that are eager birthday bag donations.
Make kits: Put together a small assistance package and make a big difference. Church World Service gathers these kits so they are ready to distribute them when disaster strikes or for people who need continuing aid. Volunteers can create themed kits, such as health, school, baby or heart-to-heart kits. For details on what to include and where to send the completed kits, go to http://www.churchworldservice.org/kits.
Create greeting cards: Make greeting cards to deliver to ill children (or adults) who could use some cheering up. Two websites (www.makeachildsmile.org; www.hugsandhope.com) provide photos and information about sick children who are hoping for some happy mail. Volunteers can make a card for one of the children and decorate it. They can also enclose something lightweight with the cards, such as stickers, coloring sheets, a postcard, a bookmark, etc. Groups can also make cards for a local nursing home, hospital or Meals on Wheels program.
Draw pictures: Color A Smile collects crayon drawings from school children, then distributes them monthly to nursing homes, Meals on Wheels programs, and individuals all across the country. Children can create the drawings and mail them to the address on the website. Also, adults can read kids the messages on the “thank you” page of the site. www.colorasmile.org.
Assemble breakfast bags: Ronald McDonald House is a "home away from home" for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. Volunteers can help these families by making breakfast bags. Buy and sort breakfast bars, bagels, yogurt, fruit cups, etc., into individual brown bags, which the families can grab on their way to the hospital or clinic in the morning. Decorating the bags before filling them can be a fun project for children volunteering. Call or e-mail for more information on what to include in each bag and where to deliver them. www.rmhtwincities.org
Decorate cookies or cards for nursing home residents: Volunteers can make and decorate cookies or other edibles to donate to a local nursing home. Homemade, cheery cards can accompany the treats.
Make blankets and more: Volunteers can make blankets and give them away to children in need of comfort. For instructions to create a simple, no-sew fleece blanket (anyone can do it!), visit http://www.binkypatrol.org/article.cfm?id=267 or http://www.exploringwomanhood.com/homelife/ideas/pom-jan03.htm. The blankets can be donated through the local chapter of Binky Patrol (http://www.binkypatrol.org/page.cfm?name=mn_rose) or the local chapter of Project Linus (http://www.orgsites.com/mn/projectlinus-stpaul/). Project Linus accepts all styles of blankets, including quilts, tied comforters, fleece blankets, crocheted or knitted afghans, and receiving blankets in child-friendly colors. Another local organization, Bundles of Love (www.bundlesoflove.org) is also looking for crafty people to make essential clothing and blankets for newborns.
Make friendship boxes for children in a family shelter. Families can each decorate a shoebox with wrapping paper or contact paper – or other decorating supplies. They can then create a card with a positive message, using white paper (or blank cards) and markers. (Or each family member can include his or her own note.) Finally, fill the friendship boxes with fun items -- unused fast-food toys, school supplies, stickers, small stuffed animals, small notepads, Play dough, card games, small puzzle books, and so on. Contact a local family shelter to see if they’re interested in receiving the boxes.
Create giving boxes: Each family/individual can design their own “giving box” to collect charitable donations. Start with a coffee can, shoebox or other container. Decorate it and put it in a prominent location in your home. Some families have members add money to the box each time a positive event occurs in their lives, as a way of sharing their good fortune. Other families collect loose change in the box or have each family member make a weekly donation from their earnings or allowance. Although this project doesn’t involve donating item to a charity, it does allow families or individuals to begin a tradition of charitable giving.
Make Whisper Phones for ESL classrooms: The whisper phone is a teaching tool that helps students hear the speech sounds (phonemes) and words they say. By using the whisper phone students are able to hear what they say directly back to their own ears. These are made of polished furniture grade PVC and are easy to put together. They can be decorated with permanent markers and packaged with a book, bookmark, etc. Contact your local elementary school to see if they’re interested in receiving a donation of whisper phones. For instructions of how to make the whisper phones, contact Doing Good Together at mail@doinggoodtogether.org.
Make “goody bags” for America’s First Responders. Purchase brown paper lunch bags. Color patriotic designs on only one side of lunch bags. Write personal letters. (The letter template and address for mailing are on the website, www.operationgoodybag.org.) All “goody bags” will be stuffed with candy, letters, poems and puzzles for America's First Responders.
Write letters to the troops: For more information, visit A Million Thanks at www.amilionthanks.org or Marine Parents at www.carepackageproject.com.
Help Habitat for Humanity: Groups can do support work for Habitat for Humanity. For projects that are child-friendly, visit http://www.habitat.org/youthprograms/int/default.aspx. Sometimes they are also looking for groups to bring cookies, snacks or lunch to work teams. For more specific information about what Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity might need, contact them at info@tchabitat.org or 612-331-4090.
Help out the humane society: Any group can participate in Minnesota Valley Humane Society’s Shelter Helper Service Projects. Shelter Helpers provide animals with new toys, blankets, or accessories. For ideas on what you might make, visit http://mvhspets.org/files/ShelterHelperBrochure.pdf or contact Jackie Pospisil, at 952-894-5000 x.22 or JackieP@MVHSpets.org.
Host a fundraiser: Sponsor a fundraiser with the proceeds going to a charity of your choice. And while you’re raising money, you can also educate people about the cause, build community and have fun. If possible, match the event with the goals of the organization. So, a carnival might be a good idea if you’re raising money for a children’s charity. A vegetable or flower sale would suit an environmental cause. You might also consider a car wash, a lemonade stand, a craft sale, a children’s talent show, a bake sale, a garage sale or hosting a party (charging a small price for admission). Other great fundraising ideas:
Spearhead a collection drive: Organize your church, civic organization, Scout troop, neighborhood or just a group of family and friends to conduct a drive. You might collect:
Visit a nursing home: You can simply visit or perhaps the residents would enjoy some of the following projects:
Talk to the volunteer coordinator about what activities would be most appealing to the residents.
Pick up litter. Twice each year, join members of Edina ABC (A Better Chance) and Edina Morningside Rotary Club and pick up litter along Highway 100 between Crosstown Highway 62 and Eden Avenue. This is a project of Edina Morningside Rotary Club and Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Use your imagination. Almost every nonprofit has needs.
Connecting With Kids, established in 1998
5701 Normandale
Road, Edina MN 55424
email: info@connectingwithkidsedina.org
tel: 952-688-8081
EXTERNAL ASSETS
INTERNAL ASSETS
BELIEFS
We believe that:
We are committed to:
JOIN US
We invite you to join us in our mission. To see what you can do to Connect With Kids please call Heather Haen Anderson, Executive Director of Connecting With Kids Edina at 952-688-8081 or send an email message to us at info@connectingwithkidsedina.org.
Connecting With Kids, established in 1998
5701 Normandale
Road, Edina MN 55424
email: info@connectingwithkidsedina.org
tel: 952-688-8081
EXTERNAL ASSETS
INTERNAL ASSETS
BELIEFS
We believe that:
We are committed to:
JOIN US
We invite you to join us in our mission. To see what you can do to Connect With Kids please call Heather Haen Anderson, Executive Director of Connecting With Kids Edina at 952-688-8081 or send an email message to us at info@connectingwithkidsedina.org.
Connecting With Kids, established in 1998
5701 Normandale
Road, Edina MN 55424
email: info@connectingwithkidsedina.org
tel: 952-688-8081