Service Project Ideas to do with Your Family this Summer

Jun 29, 2021 | Family Time, Lifestyle

Grab an opportunity to show kindness by serving others with your family this summer. We've rounded up some simple and meaningful service project ideas you can feel good about!

young family planting trees together, from Fun Cheap or Free

There is something about serving others together that deepens our bond. Setting our eyes on a common goal of good and working together to achieve it can bring us together in a way we didn't know possible. Not only will the recipient be blessed by your service, you will, too!

*Note: When you click the links in this post, we may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Reap the rewards of service with your family this season with these simple, meaningful, and FUN service project ideas. Whether you're stuck at home or ready to touch lives across the region, these service project ideas are fit for the whole family and will have a lasting impact.


SERVICE PROJECT IDEAS YOU CAN DO FROM HOME

writing thank you notes, from Fun Cheap or Free

Isn't it incredible what a ginormous impact we can have on the lives of others without even leaving our homes? Don't let being stuck at home stop you from reaching out and making a difference. Here are a few of our favorite ways to serve from home.

  • Create a video with an encouraging message and share it on social media
  • Write letters to nursing home residents
  • Send thank you notes to fire stations and police departments
  • Start a meal train for a family in need
  • Organize an online fundraiser for a family that needs help
  • Clean out your pantry and donate food you won't eat
  • Send old blankets or towels to an animal shelter
  • Start recycling and reducing waste
  • Call your family members just to say hello
  • Collect spare change for a cause
  • Host an online meeting to share your knowledge and skills on a subject

These service project ideas may seem simple, but they sure do pack a punch for those on the receiving end!


SERVICE PROJECTS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

lemonade stand, from Fun Cheap or Free

Your neighborhood can become your second family if you're really active. Do more than just waving at them when pulling in or out of your driveway. You can really make a difference on your street by doing these service project ideas.

  • Host a lemonade stand and donate proceeds to a charity
  • Mow the grass for elderly neighbors
  • Build a neighborhood library shelf
  • Join a drive-by parade for a shut-in
  • Pull a neighbors' weeds
  • Bake cookies and deliver to homebound friends
  • Help clean up the neighborhood after a big storm
  • Organize a neighborhood yard sale and donate the proceeds to a family in need
  • Volunteer to watch a neighbor's house when they go out of town
  • Walk the neighborhood dogs or let them out during the day while their owners are at work

If you're living next door to someone, you might as well get to know them! You may be the only person they talk to during the day or they may become the new best friends that you didn't know you were missing out on. Make it count!


LOCAL WAYS TO SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY

Volunteering at the local soup kitchen, from Fun Cheap or Free

There are SO MANY ways to serve your community and make a difference. From small acts of kindness to larger endeavors, these service project ideas are fun and rewarding for the whole family!

  • Pick up trash at a local park
  • Walk dogs at the animal shelter
  • Play games with residents at a nursing home
  • Visit with a shut-in and listen to their stories
  • Take meals to new moms
  • Be a translator if you are bilingual
  • Collect canned goods for a food pantry
  • Round up stray shopping carts at a grocery store
  • Teach computer skills to seniors
  • Volunteer to read books to kids at the library
  • Volunteer at a soup kitchen
  • Offer to babysit for a family in need
  • Help sort donations at a local center
  • Coach a youth sports team
  • Volunteer to be a crossing guard

Don't be afraid to get your kids involved with you. Even if they cannot do the act of service themselves, watching you serve will be an example they'll take with them for the rest of their lives.


SERVICE PROJECT IDEAS THAT STRETCH THE REGION AND GLOBE

woman using a smart phone, from Fun Cheap or Free

Did you know you can make a global impact without even getting on a plane? Use your resources and time to make an impact for those you'll never meet!

  • Sponsor a child in need
  • Host a shoe cutting party for Sole Hope
  • Fundraise to build a portion of a water well in areas that have no access
  • Shop companies that give back to the community and the globe
  • Volunteer and travel to clean up after a natural disaster
  • Support local missionaries leading the charge across the world
  • Shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child

This is a great opportunity to expose your kids to poverty around the world that they may not even know exists. What better way to help them understand thankfulness for what they have? (We all know kids could use a little more of that…!)


SERVICE PROJECT IDEAS FOR YOUNG KIDS

donating toys, from Fun Cheap or Free

You're never too young to learn the value of helping others. Get the little ones involved with these fun service project ideas for kids!

  • Donate stuffed animals to a children's hospital or homeless shelter
  • Draw pictures to deliver to nursing home residents
  • Make “Go Bags” for the homeless and keep them in your car
  • Write letters to service men and women
  • Make birthday cards for foster kids
  • Ding dong ditch your friends and leave homemade cookies
  • Make no-sew blankets for the homeless shelter
  • Donate outgrown clothing
  • Visit and sing songs with the elderly and widows
  • Pass out flowers to random strangers in your town

No matter if you're stuck at home or ready to travel to meet people's needs, you CAN have a lasting impact with these fun summer service project ideas! Get the whole family involved and teach your kids the value of helping others. Give them the gift of reaping the personal rewards when they make a difference for someone else. It's incredible!

image that reads, "Easy service project ideas families can do together", from Fun Cheap or Free

How have you served others with your family? Share your service project ideas with us in the comments below!

Looking for more helpful posts?

Happy serving!

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *