Each Junior Civitan Club chooses the community service projects
they will do to help in their community. There are some projects common
to each community.
SOME EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS performed by Junior Civitan members in Florida: - Tutoring Children less fortunate at the Boys & Girls Club - Coaching & helping at Challenger Soccer every Saturday - Feeding the homeless - Spending time with abused children, face painting, playing games - Visiting senior citizens - Collecting blankets for the homeless - Collecting shoes for the needy - Making Christmas gifts for needy Children - Collecting toys and teddy bears at Christmas for needy Children - Raising money for victims of the Haiti earthquake - Painting toys for Christmas for needy Children - Decorating the trays for Seniors at Holiday time - Playing serious balloon volleyball with Seniors in residence - Car wash to raise funds for medical research at the Civitan International Research Center (CIRC) - "Race for Research - Run, Walk or Roll" to raise funds for CIRC - Environmental cleanup at parks and beaches - "Be a NO PHONE Driver - Phocus on the Road" campaign to save lives - Coaching Challenger Baseball every Saturday - Decorating bags for foster children, filled with goodies - Get Well cards for Children in hospital - Christmas cards for Children in hospital during Christmas - Collecting toys and goodies for children and Mom's in protective shelters - Collecting school supplies for needy children - Caring for animals at Animal Shelters - Therapeutic Riding Program volunteers - Oyster Reef Restoration - Collecting food for the Food Bank - Thank you cards to Troops, Police and Fire Fighters - Valentines Day Dance for Challenged - Fish-A-Thon for kids
IDEAS from across the USA - Birthday parties for children in homeless shelters - Grant A Wish of a Senior or ill Parent - Paint the exterior of a Seniors Home & do yard work (get paint donated) - Spruce up a heritage building, give it new life and use - Recycle gently used sneakers. Cleaned will look like new. - Take less fortunate Children to the Beach for a day of fun - Work with your sponsoring Civitan Club to purchase equipment for your Fire Fighters. Ask what they need. They may not have a thermal imaging camera to help locate victims. - Reading to elementary school children - Christmas cards to Seniors in Nursing Homes - Thank you cards to Veterans - Collect teddy bears, toys and books for Children in homeless shelters - Collect cut hair for wigs for children who have lost their hair due to illness like cancer treatment - Volunteer registry: www.Serve.gov and www.VolunteerMatch.org
BOOK ENDS Kids help kids by recycling and distributing books to inner-city schools, homeless shelters and after-school enrichment centers www.BookEnds.org
FIRST BOOK Distributes new books to disadvantage children in preschools to after-school programs www.FirstBook.org
REACH OUT AND READ Pediatricians, nurses and volunteers in impoverished ares promote literacy during well-child check ups www.ReachOutAndRead.org
IMAGINATION LIBRARY Started by Dolly Parton, this organization welcomes affiliate partners who can purchase books for less fortunate Children at a huge savings. www.ImaginationLibrary.com
BEADS OF COURAGE www.beadsofcourage.org (This organization was started by a former Junior Civitan.)We are growing every day, providing innovative, arts-in-medicine supportive care programs for children coping with serious illness, their families and the health care providers who care for them.
GAMES FOR HEROES Started by two teens, this charity has distributed more than 1,000 handheld video games and gaming systems to Troops stationed overseas. Gently used and new Game Boy, Nintendo DS and Play Station Portable are shipped. Sports Games like NBA Live and FIFA Soccer along with action and strategy games, like Warhammer and Age of Empires are shipped. They contact manufacturers for donations of equipment and the public for cash donations. Students make Thank You cards and pictures for our Troops to include with the games. http://www.gamesforheroes.com/Site/Home.html
GRASS ROOTS SOCCER www.grassrootssoccer.org
The Lose the Shoes Tournament was created by Dartmouth College students and first was conducted at Dartmouth College. Since its inceptions four years ago, the Lose The Shoes event has been conducted--with myriad modifications to respond to local needs-- at literally hundreds of colleges, schools, local soccer clubs and by small groups of individuals doing their own fund raising on behalf of Grassroot Soccer.
The format of the event is to play 3 v 3 coed, barefoot soccer on small sided fields....and to include both an HIV/AIDS educational component as well as a fund raising component into the event. Grassroot Soccer has a relationship with a sports marketing firm that provides support to individuals and groups in their planning and execution of such an event.
THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY (LLS) To find your local chapter, click here: http://www.lls.org Enter your zip code at the top right hand corner of your screen and press "Chapter Finder".
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society holds hundreds of fundraising events annually. Whatever your interest, there is a way for you to get involved, have fun and contribute to the cures. In addition, we need volunteers throughout the year to help with LLS’ programs.
Please contact your local chapter for more information about local volunteer and fundraising opportunities.
ADOPT A TROOP www.adoptatroop.net We need all the help we can get. We work out of my garage and to date have sent 1639 boxes to 10 units that we support. Many of our men and women serving our freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan get nothing and our contacts give to these men and women first and then share with the rest. Of course money is desperately needed to mail these boxes - we use the flat rate boxes costing $10.70 for the small (8-1/2 x 11) and $12.50 for the large (12 x 12).
CHILDREN'S SKIN DISEASE FOUNDATION This organization sends children suffering from serious skin disease to a one week retreat called Camp Wonder, where they can just be themselves with no one staring at them. www.csdf.org
MADD Mothers Against Drunk Driving Through its various programs MADD works to keep our roads safer by reducing drunk driving, underage drinking, distracted drivers and petitioning government to increase the penalties for drunk driving. www.MADD.org
SPORTS GIFT This organization collects all types of sports equipment and distributes to needy children across North America, Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Caribbean. Start a local collection. www.SportsGift.org
SAMARITAN’S PURSE "Samaritan's Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world." http://www.samaritanspurse.org
CHILDRENS HOSPITALS EVERYWHERE welcome cards to cheer up patients, gifts for those hospitalized over Christmas and other holidays, bring craft items and help those hospitalized at Christmas to make a gift for their family members...remember hospitalized children cannot get out to shop for their family but want each to have a gift from them.
FEEDING AMERICA www.feedingamerica.org Each day, hunger is experienced in every community across this country. In fact, our network feeds over 37 million neighbors each year. Ending hunger in America depends on the volunteer work of literally millions of Americans who know that they can make a difference. There are as many different ways to volunteer, as there are individuals and communities across this country. You can help out in your local community through activities such as: tutoring kids at your local Kids Cafe repackaging donated food for use at food pantries transporting food to charitable agencies clerical work at the National Office Its simple - get involved today - and get your family and friends involved. To find opportunities in your area, please contact your local food bank.
EASTER SEALS Easter Seals Florida - Tampa Bay, Child Development Center 2401 E. Henry Avenue Tampa, FL 33610 (813) 236-5589 Grace Armstrong, Executive Director Fax (813) 237-8593
AQUARIUMS...SAVING MARINE LIFE Contact your local aquarium for various volunteer opportunities.
MEALS ON WHEELS www.mowaa.org The need for volunteers and the types of services that volunteers perform vary greatly among Meals On Wheels programs. These services may include: Delivery of meals to homebound Packaging meals for delivery Clerical support Assistance with special events or functions Telephone reassurance to homebound.
The Meals On Wheels Association of America National Headquarters does not enroll volunteers for the local Meals on Wheels programs. If you are interested in volunteering for your local Meals On Wheels program, you will have to contact your local program directly. To locate a local program, you may contact the ElderCare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or visit their website at www.eldercare.gov. This will provide you with the closest Area Agency on Aging which will connect you with your local Meals On Wheels program.
THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY also the Sierra Club and the Defenders of Wildlife www.wilderness.org
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF AMERICA www.bgca.org
AMERICAN RED CROSS www.redcross.org
BOOKS FOR AFRICA Our fundraising page features a YesKidzCan! project outline that may be of interest:http://www.booksforafrica.org/fundraising.html
MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION OF AMERICA http://www.wish.org
ANIMAL SHELTERS Contact your local shelters for age requirements
Other Ideas
A list of other community service project ideas can also be found at www.JuniorCivitan.org under Member Resources then click on Literature & Forms.
