20 Community Service Ideas for Kids of All Ages

If you’re brainstorming volunteer opportunities for kids then you’ve come to the right place. Read on for a full list of 20 easy community service ideas for kids that the whole family can enjoy together.

Easy Community Service Ideas for Kids

Community service doesn’t have to be hard to be meaningful. If you’re just getting started volunteering with kids then start with one of these easy ideas to make volunteering a part of your family culture.

• Secretly rake leaves or shovel snow for an elderly neighbor. Kids love surprises so show them how fun it is to surprise someone else with their secret acts of service!
• Heart attack a widower or lonely neighbor and cover their door with paper hearts with kind words and loving messages. Once again, adding in that element of surprise will make it extra fun for the kids to be involved and sneakily cover the door with hearts.
• Pick one Saturday a month to be a family random acts of kindness day. Make a list of simple ways you can serve on your super Saturday and keep it simple, like gathering toys to donate or picking out coloring books from the dollar store for a local hospital. You’ll be amazed how quickly your daughter looks forward to your service Saturdays!

Community Service Ideas for Kids Under 10

Volunteering with young kids can be an extra challenge. Many organizations don’t allow the littlest kids to participate, but fear not, there are still plenty of ways to involve your kids in community service under the age of 10.

• If your family already has a garden, have your young kids help in the garden with the plan to donate extra produce to your local food bank. If you’ve never gardened before then giving your young daughter a chance to learn how to grow her own food and then have the joy of sharing it with others is a great community service project.
• Visit an Assisted Living facility once a month and adopt a grandparent. Even the youngest girls can enjoy visiting a new grandma or grandpa, making them cards or playing a game with them.
• Beautify your community. Little kids are full of energy and are a great help in cleaning up, especially if you do it as a family and make it a game! Pick a spot in your neighborhood or city that could use some cleaning and with gloves and trash bags, make a fun family night out of picking up trash.
• Have your daughter help you prepare a meal for a family in need, or take a neighbor grocery shopping if her car isn’t working. As your little ones participate in service as part of their everyday life they’ll see how easy it is to volunteer and make a difference every day.

Where to Volunteer With Kids

There are tons of opportunities for volunteering right in your own community, sometimes you just need to know where to look. All of these places in your town are great places to call and ask about volunteer opportunities for kids.

• Churches – Contact a church near you or speak with the leader of the congregation you attend to find out about how you can serve. Preachers are often aware of what families could use extra help and will have ideas on how your family can make a difference.
• Schools – Your kids will take extra pride in their school if they are also actively serving their school! Can you cut projects for the librarian or kindergarten teacher from home? Could you help run booths at the school carnival or create a crew to clean the playground? Contact your principal to ask what your family can do to volunteer at school.
• City Office – Your local city building will have ideas on how families can volunteer in your community. Perhaps they will have you cleaning up garden beds in the fall or planting flowers in the spring or passing out flyers for a city event.
• Assisted Living Centers/Senior Centers – Assisted Living Centers love volunteers and they will have ideas for volunteering with kids at their business. Ideas include writing penpal letters to residents, making homemade valentines for the holiday, putting together a musical program for their lunch and more.
• Food Bank – Some food banks allow kids to help sort cans and donations while others won’t allow kids to work at the food bank but will happily accept donations your kids collect. Contact the food bank to see how your family can volunteer.
• Homeless Shelter – A local homeless shelter can let you know what needs they have to be filled. They might need help collecting books, games, coats or shoes or serving meals.

Animal Volunteer Opportunities

If your family loves pets and animals of every kind then it makes sense to find ways to serve in your community involving animals. Look into these volunteer opportunities for kids who love animals.

• Raise a Service Animal- There are plenty of opportunities for a family looking to raise or train service animals. This can be a great chance to serve for families with the time and space for an animal. While it’s hard to say goodbye when it’s time for the puppy to move to his new home, its a great way to serve that involves the entire family. Do an online search for opportunities in your area.
• Contact your animal Shelter- It depends on the rules at your local animal shelter if they will allow children to volunteer or not. Our experience has been that a shelter is open to younger volunteers as long as they have an adult with them. Call your local shelter for opportunities to help the shelter animals find new homes, go for walks and show love to the feline friends temporarily housed there.

Community Service Projects for Kids

• Host a Book Drive- Use facebook, fliers or knock on neighbors doors to let them know that you are collecting books for a good cause. Find a local hospital or school that could use a donation and collect books as a family.
• Raise Money for a Cause- Similar to a door-to-door book collection, collecting money to help in times of disaster or for a specific donation is a simple way to serve together as a family. Make sure you have a simple way for people to donate and be very clear about where the money goes. Raising money could also work with a bake sale, car wash or any other simple service.
• Collect Canned Food- Call your local food pantry to find out what they need. Give your neighbors some notice that you’ll be coming by or pair up with a school activity or local theater to encourage even more donations from the patrons.