Next up to consider is what you will actually be doing for your service project! There are 2 main categories here to ask from people: Gifts of Money and Gifts of Time.
What is a Gift of Money?
This is when people donate money to your cause either because they believe in your message, or because you sell them a product or service in exchange for funds that you will donate. For my service project, I decided to monetize a skill and sell a product in order to raise money for the Children’s Cancer Association. I love baking and am good at it, so I sold cupcakes made from scratch (ha! look at the cute way my blog refers to my project!) to raise money, and successfully made over $1,200 just on the first round of sales! You can do something like this too!
Ask yourself: What is something you’re good at or enjoy that you can monetize?
Some ideas:
- Baking
- Cooking to-go meals for first responders, etc. (any busy profession that might buy a meal on the go!)
- Visual Art (selling your drawings/ paintings, offering to paint people’s jean jackets, Hydro Flasks, doing embroidery, etc.)
- Crafts
- Doing yard work/ household chores for people (I spent time helping clean a family member’s roof to raise money for the supplies I needed for my project)
- Music (maybe have a concert to raise money or offer to write short songs for people for a small donation)
- Making Jewelry (bracelets, earrings, necklaces, charms, hair pieces, etc.)
- Photography (Doing photo sessions for people and donating profits to charity, selling photographs of nature, etc. that you’ve taken)
- Tutoring
- Coaching kids/ young adults in a sport, dance style, music, etc.
- ANYTHING YOU CAN DREAM UP! Use your creativity!
What is a Gift of Time?
This means organizing a group of people to get out and serve together or collecting non- monetary donations.
Some ideas:
Get people together to…
- Cook meals and take them to a soup kitchen
- Make blankets for people experiencing homelessness
- Go to the food bank to serve once a month
- Clean up a beach, road, or park
- Participate in a walk/ run for different causes
- Start a community garden
- Replant trees and vegetation in areas devastated by fire, deforestation, etc.
Collect…
- Old electronics to recycle
- School supplies
- Hygiene products for women in shelters
- Non-perishable food items to donate
- Supplies to make care packages for people experiencing homelessness, or people who’ve just survived a natural disaster
- Food/ supplies for animal shelters
Once again, let your creativity shine! These are just a few of the countless possibilities for gifts of time and money. Once you’ve decided on what skill or activity to monetize or organize, you’re ready to move on!
Head now to PATH #2, STEP #4: Pick a Name
Joy From Scratch! 