Give Life

Fundraising Tips

Tips to Start Your Fundraising Event

This post provides a few fundraising tips that will help you get started on holding your first fundraiser. Starting a fundraising event is a highly effective way to raise public awareness about the causes you care most about. Moreover, fundraisers are a great way to draw more traffic to your fundraising profile online, increase your visibility on a much larger scale, and have a greater overall impact on your mission. But fundraisers can be a lot of work to manage and there are many “ins and outs” to running a successful campaign. So where do you start? Here are a few fundraising tips to kick start your campaign: 

Create a fundraising profile

Creating a fundraising profile can be extremely advantageous as it’s a great place to direct supporters who want to learn more about your cause. Additionally, it’s a  fantastic way to raise donations using the power of the web. Many of our Recipients have been very successful raising support for their fundraisers using MicroGiving as a tool to reach a large volume of supporters.

Find local fundraisers

Explore fundraising events in your area and learn what other people are doing in your community. Contact community service organizations, volunteer groups, and local schools to partner with. The greater the body of partners you team up with, the stronger your fundraising event will function. 

Arrange a meeting to discuss your fundraising ideas. Brainstorm, collaborate, and bounce ideas among one another. Consider the greatest needs of your community and how you can successfully meet those needs through your fundraiser. 

Develop an organizational structure

Planning a fundraiser can be an extensively tedious process. Divide tasks and responsibilities among other volunteers on your fundraising team – don’t take on more than you can handle. The success of any large undertaking is almost always attributed to teamwork. The strengths and talents of other volunteers will carry your event successfully through. 

Fundraiser event planning

• Delegate a volunteer to manage the event; and arrange a location and ensure the right facilities are available to the public. 
   

Fundraising

• In addition to setting up a fundraising profile, find someone with good networking and PR skills to actively promote your event and raise support for your campaign.
   

Fundraiser Outreach

• Create promotional materials to distribute (ie. fliers, stickers, newsletters). Outreach materials raise awareness and encourage people to support your cause. They keep the public updated about your event and are also a great way to attract media attention. 
   
• Consider local businesses that might be willing to support your fundraiser by distributing your promotional materials to their clients and customers. 

Build capacity through effective communications

An imperative part of your fundraising campaign boils down to how effectively you communicate with the public. 

• Create a contact list of names, phone numbers, and email addresses of all the volunteers, sponsors, and local businesses involved. Remembering every new contact in your phone book can sometimes be difficult so organize your contact list by an individual’s involvement in the campaign. Organizing your contact list will allow you to quickly match contacts with their specific role or affiliation in the your fundraising campaign. 
   
• Cater your fundraising profile to appeal to the public. Create a profile that not only provides people with information and updates, but also engages the public with fun and interactive pictures, blogs, trivia, opinion polls, and opportunities to be vocal on your page. 
   
• Encourage people to return to your profile by promising exciting updates, news, and information regarding the event.
   
• Use social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter to stay in contact with supporters and reach a larger audience of new prospects. Networking sites are an increasingly powerful way to drive hundreds, if not thousands, of traffic to your fundraising profile.

For more fundraising tips you might also be interested in How To Get More Online Donations.

What are your fundraising tips?

• We’d love to hear from you so please share some of your fundraising tips and advice.
• If you’ve never participated in a fundraiser, what are some causes you care most about?

Change the World

Happy Earth Day, today we change the world!

For those of you who are not aware – April 22nd is Earth Day so we’ve decided to highlight a few things people have done (and are doing) around the globe to change the earth. 

Calling world change: dial 0 for Climate Control

The Call for Climate campaign has drawn over 100,000 eco-activists from across the world to call upon governments and legislators to stop using coal, invest in the development of renewable energy resources, develop more efficient and sustainable environmental practices, and protect the poor from being effected by the costs incurred from the global warming crisis. Hopefully the voices of 100,000 activists speak loud enough to change the world!

Changing the classroom to change the world

Last year, a primary school in Bulgaria created an eco-friendly classroom outdoors as an educational tool and to encourage communities to incorporate environmental practices into their “habitat”. A class of fourth graders planted trees and a fence made of shrubs bordering the new eco-classroom. The school has inspired many to find greener ways to live and function.

Committing to world change: Nigeria launches awareness

The Waste Management Society of Nigeria launched a campaign to educate people worldwide about the importance of committing to world change. The effort gathered hundreds of people to encourage communities to stop littering, start recycling, and exercise eco-friendly practices in day to day living. The campaign has equipped disadvantaged communities across the world with the education and resources to change their behavior to better impact the world. 

Greening the Earth Walk

Hundreds gather in China for the Greening the Earth Walk campaign. Starting in the Northern Fujian Province, volunteers and eco-activists march through China planting trees along the way to landmark their eco-footprint. 

But you don’t have to go to China to change the world. You can change the world simply by making changes in your everyday practices. It’s the little eco-conscience decisions that we all make as a whole that effectually make a tremendous impact on the world. Whether it’s riding your bike whenever possible, refusing to use plastic bags, or educating others. It’s time to rekindle our commitment to change the earth. 

Are you celebrating Earth Day?

Tonight, the MicroGiving Team will be turning off our electricity from 8:30 to 9:30 to save energy along with millions of other Earth Day celebrators. Join us as we light some candles to celebrate…

Earth Day

What is Earth Day?  

What’s all this jab and who-ha about saving the environment? And are we experiencing a global environmental crisis? 

Earth Day is a global environmental call to action!

Earth Day is celebrated every year on the 22nd of April and aims to raise awareness about the earth and the importance of taking action to save our environment. Thousands of events and environmental campaigns are held world wide throughout Earth Week to develop sustainable climate change solutions, promote environmental education, and encourage civic participation.

This year, Earth Day 2009 will kick start the Green Generation Campaign which aims to encourage civic action and participation in global green efforts. Green Generation hopes to achieve carbon free solutions that will change our impact on the environment by targeting renewable energy resources and ending our reliance on fossil fuel and coal consumption.

Why is Earth Day important?

The importance of Earth Day (learn more here) is to counteract the threatening effects of global warming. 

What is global warming? 

Global warming is bad. Global warming occurs when excessive CO2 gasses (produced from vehicle emissions, deforestation, and the burning of coal, oil, and gas) get trapped in the earth’s atmosphere and cause a greenhouse effect which heats up the earth to not so cozy temps. 

The National Resource Defense Council reports that the earth’s temperatures have drastically risen at a record breaking rate ever to be marked in history. They estimate that every year 2.5 billion tons of C02 are produced and released into the earth’s atmosphere by coal burning power plants and over 1.5 billion tons annually in automobile pollutants. Yikes. 

The NRDC warns that if we don’t stop global warming and change our negative consumer impact on the earth, we should expect the effects of global warming to be devastating in as early as over the next century:

Sea levels will rise, flooding coastal areas. Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense. Droughts and wildfires will occur more often. Disease-carrying mosquitoes will expand their range. And species will be pushed to extinction. -NRDC

Now that we’ve probably scared your pants off it’s time to celebrate the earth on April 22nd and get out there and do something on Earth Day to save the environment. Together we can stop global warming and better the environment, but doing so requires colloborative action and initiative! We encourage you to get involved during Earth Week, as we’ve only got one Earth and she deserves to be treated with a little TLC. 

Tell us what you think about Earth Day?

• Have you ever participated in any previous Earth Day events or activities? If so, tell us what you did…
• Do you feel that global warming is as serious as environmentalists hype it up to be?
• What are some ways that you leave your carbon footprint on the earth?

Stop Animal Cruelty

End Global Poverty

The crisis to end global poverty has sparked worldwide attention! 

The UNICEF reports that “50,000 children die every day to poverty related causes” and “25,000 of which are under the age of five.”

And now, amongst the economic crisis more people have turned their heads towards the urgent concern of world poverty and the impact of our present financial meltdown on third world countries. 

If the crisis has impacted those who struggle to cope with high food and fuel prices, what is to become of those who can barely survive below poverty? 

The Global Call to Action Against Poverty warns, “the economic meltdown which has spiraled will have a devastating effect on people living below poverty”.

The United Nations has voiced that the world poverty crisis “has not received the urgency or attention it demands”.

And rightly so! When millions are spent to bail out wealthy bankers and billions more are spent to fund war, but the world can’t seem to find the extra money to meet the basic needs of millions of children and families who struggle to survive below the grimmest poverty levels! 

World poverty is a rampantly plaguing concern and there has never been more of an urgency to address poverty and help children in need. 

So what is the world doing to put an end to the pressing crisis of global poverty?

In 2000, leaders of the United Nations gathered for the first time to discuss poverty and establish the new Millennium Development Goal to put an end to world poverty by the year 2015.

The campaign aims to unite millions of people across the world in an effort to fight global poverty, and remarkably people are coming through in extraordinary ways.

People from every nation and walk of life are taking a stand against poverty. Last year over 44 million people from 127 countries participated in over 6,540 events across the world in the campaign to end global poverty and broke the world record for greatest number of people to ever stand up against poverty within 24 hours.  For example, last year:

• 9 cities throughout Europe participated in the installation of 9 huge chairs without seats to signify and illustrate that people worldwide won’t sit down until governments provide better relief and aid to end global poverty. 
• In Zimbabwe 5,000 people gathered before their government to seek access to better health, water, and sanitation facilities. 
• Over 10,000 people in Delhi gathered in the streets before Parliament for the sake of addressing world poverty.  
• In Daltonganj, India 30,000 people from over 600 villages gathered to seek poverty alleviation assistance from local governments. 

During these hard economic times, it’s more important than ever to NOT withdraw from our commitment to end global poverty. We need to work harder to help people in need, as this is when people need help most.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about World Poverty:

• Do you feel that global poverty is a pressing crisis? Are governments not doing enough?
• Do you feel that our present economic situation will impact third world countries?
• What can you do to take a stand against poverty? Or, what small sacrifices can you afford to make to contribute towards ending global poverty?

Child Protection

Child protection from violence, exploitation, and abuse is a rampantly growing concern among many human rights activists. The UNICEF reports that every year 300 million children are subjected to violence, armed conflict, child labor, child marriage, commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, and physical abuse and mutilation. The UNICEF projects that millions more are subject to victimization and lack adequate child protection.

For example, the United Nations recently stepped in early this year and rescued 880 children soldiers from the volatile armed groups associated with the eastern province of Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The children were demobilized by the MONUC’s Child Protection Unit and restored to their families. 

Children have a right to peace, safety, growth, and development. The gravity of child protection places an urgent responsibility in our hands to take a stand against the rise of this unsettling abuse. There are ways you can promote child protection and build a safe environment for children: 

1. Encourage governments to address and develop a stronger commitment to the protection of children. 
    
2. Promote more child protection legislation and enforcement of laws that protect children’s rights.
    
3. Encourage others to be passionate by discussing child protection issues, raising awareness, and openly discussing child safety concerns. Target malicious social and cultural customs, practices, and attitudes that exploit or harm children  and discuss these issues in your community and in activists’ forums. 
    
4. Equip children with sustainable life skills that will encourage awareness and prevent them from being vulnerable to hostile environments. 
    
5. Support organizations that equip communities with child protection services and promote the prevention of child abuse.
    
6. Exercise your voice and demand that governments implement strict monitoring, reporting, and policing of child exploitation practices. 

Children have a fundamental right to be protected from exploitation and harmful abuse. By raising awareness about child protection issues, voicing your advocacy of child safety laws, and supporting organizations that target and fight child abuse you can make an impact.

Tell us what you think!

• Do you feel that governments are adequately addressing child protection issues? Or, do you feel that there are other plaguing issues that deserve more attention?
• How aware are people in your community about child abuse?
• What are some ways that you can fight against child exploitation?

If you enjoyed reading this post, you might also enjoy our post about child poverty, hunger, education, and how to help children in need around the world.

Animal Welfare

Animal welfare and wildlife preservation is just as much your responsibility as caring for your own needs. In many cases, the welfare of animals is overlooked and failed to be given adequate address. The Humane Society of the United States – or HSUS, projects that roughly 1 million domestic animals are neglected and/or abused every year. Voluntary animal cruelty is one thing, but lack of regard for animals in our careless daily practices is equally fault worthy.  

There are many simple ways to encourage and support animal welfare:

Endorse animal welfare by consuming organic products

Conventional animal factory farming is notorious for the abuse and cruelty of animals during the manufacturing  process of meat and dairy foods.  In many cases, organic farming methods encourage more humane animal practices and minimize the use of synthetic chemicals that not only harm animals and the environment  but aren’t good for our own health.

Use animal safe pesticides

Every year millions of household pesticides such as herbicides, insecticides, yard chemicals, and even cleaning products pollute our environment and leak into our ground water, lakes, and streams. Millions of animals that rely on the land are harmed by our usage of these poisonous chemicals. You can promote animal welfare by simply using natural pesticides that won’t impact the environment.

Stop lab animal cruelty

Some of the household products and personal care items that you purchase at the store may or may not have been tested on animals. In many cases, lab animal testing employs practices that are inhumane. For example, “Draize Testing” is a common lab practice that aims to measure the degree of harm a chemical has on an animal by observing the effect it has on the skin and eyes of the animal. There are alternatives to animal testing, so read labels carefully at the store and purchase natural products that don’t support lab animal cruelty.

Wildlife-proof your garbage for better animal welfare practices

The United States throws away over 200 million tons of garbage every year that not only pollutes our landfills but also harms wildlife animals. There are three simple measures you can take to wildlife-proof the disposal of your trash. Firstly, recycle! Secondly rinse out jars and plastic containers so that the remnants of food don’t attract animals. Third, cut and crush paper, plastic, and aluminum containers to reduce the size of our landfills and minimize the chance of animals choking or getting tangled within (soda can rings should be snipped and any fishing lines or string should be cut down). Fourth, properly seal and close your garbage containers so that animals can’t get inside. Be sure to carefully seal any plastic wrap or aluminum foil before discarding. 

Reduce your greenhouse impact and preserve wildlife

Everyday there are little things you can do to reduce your impact on the environment, global warming, and support the wellbeing of animals. Some tips include: 1) Changing your light bulbs to more energy efficient bulbs 2) Avoid using your car whenever possible – ride your bike, walk, use public transport, or car-pool if necessary to reduce the negative effects of pollution 3) Plant trees, shrubs, and gardens as they absorb carbon dioxide which is great for the environment and provides a safe eco-environment for wildlife. 

Advocate anti-animal cruelty laws

There are ample opportunities to join a cause and support animal activism. The best way to promote animal welfare and improve the lives of animals is to be active on the legislative level and voice your concerns to your local, federal, and state officials. 

By exercising simple animal welfare practices, you can make a tremendous impact on the environment. It’s our duty to do all we can to promote the care and wellbeing of animals and sustain, restore, and preserve the habitats they rely on. 

We’d love to hear from you!

• What are your thoughts on animal cruelty?
• What are some ways that you can put an end to animal abuse?
• What are some ways that you care for animals?

Giving

The most powerful and effective people are givers.  History can attest to the impact left behind by example figures like Mother Theresa, Albert Schweitzer, and David Livingstone. But they’ve imparted far more than charity, they’ve given us words of wisdom to live by. We collected a few Giving quotes to inspire and remind you just how important the role of giving plays in the course of life…

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” -  Kahlil Gibran (Lebanese philosophical Essayist, Novelist, and Poet; 1883-1931)

“To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh (American writer and aviation pioneer; 1906-2001)

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” – Mother Teresa (Catholic nun – founder of Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, India; 1910 -1997)

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” – Anne Frank (Jewish girl – authored chronicled account of holocaust in her famous diary; 1929 – 1945)

“It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it.” –Albert Einstein (German-born, theoretical physicist; 1979 -1955)

“If you have much, give of your wealth; If you have little, give of your heart” – Old Proverb

“The love we give away is the only love we keep.” – Elbert Hubbard (American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher; 1856 – 1915)

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” Maya Angelou (American autobiographer and poet; 1928 – present)

“There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life — happiness, freedom, and peace of mind — are always attained by giving them to someone else.” – Peyton Conway March (WW1 American soldier and Army Chief of Staff; 1864 – 1955)

“You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it’s a little thing, do something for others – something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.” Albert Schweitzer ( German-French theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician; 1875 – 1965)

“Give what you have to someone, it may be better than you dare to think.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American educator and poet; 1807 – 1882)

We’re always looking for inspiration, so please share with us some of your inspirational giving quotes!

Save the Environment

10 Ways to Save the Environment

There are many simple things you can do around the house to save the environment, cut down on waste,  and save money at the end of the month. This post provides a few things you can do to be more environmentally conscience:

Save the environment when doing laundry

An eco-conscious household can save up to 3,400 gallons a year by doing full loads of laundry.

Help the environment by using the garbage disposal

Dispose of organic waste down the disposal and avoid using plastic garbage bags that pollute our landfills.

Be green and recycle paper

For every ton of paper you recycle such as newspapers, magazines, and old computer paper –  you save the environment and save 17 trees, preserve 7,000 gallons of water a year, power an average home for 6 months, and keep 60 pounds of pollutants out of the air.

Be eco-friendly when washing your hands

Use bar soap so as to eliminate using plastic bottles.

Save energy when powering electronics

Use an electrical power strip to power your computer, fax, scanner, speakers, etc. These items can consume enough energy as a 75 watt light bulb left on 24 hours. An electrical strip harnesses energy more efficiently and can be turned off when not in use.

Be environmentally conscious about leaky appliances

Did you know that 2 out of 10 toilets in American households leak? Leaky appliances can waste up to 73,000 gallons of water a year – the equivalent to washing clothes for a family of four up to 4 years.

Save the environment by using the microwave

Whenever possible avoid using the stovetop to heat your food. You’ll save the environment up to 80 percent.

But if you insist on using the stove…!

Match the pan to the appropriate size burner, which can save the environment by preserving energy up to 40 percent and spare your electric bill by $36 a year.

Be eco-conscience and recycle soda cans

Don’t forget the little things around the house like pop bottles! Find local recycle centers as one recycled aluminum can will save enough energy to run your television for 3 hours.

Save the environment by stopping your computer screen saver

Screen savers might save your screen, but they do nothing to save the environment. It takes more energy to run a screen saver then it does to put your computer into a low-power mode saving you between $50 to $100 a year on your electricity bill.

These are just a few things you can do around the house to save the environment, but there are plenty more!

We’d love to hear from you!
What are some ways that you cut costs and exercise eco-activism around the house?

Gift Giving Ideas

Need a few gift giving ideas? We’ve got a few unique gift suggestions that won’t drain your wallet.

So you’ve got roughly one dollar and thirty-two cents sitting at the bottom of a cheap ceramic piggy-bank. You’re gonna need more than that, (but at least you’ve got the tax covered on the wrapping paper). You’ve looked under your futon and jammed your fingers between the crusty seats of your 1976 family station wagon. You’ve checked the shoebox under your bed. You even tried to pull out your front tooth to shove under your pillow for that frugal fairy. Sigh—no luck.

Ok. Let’s get creative.

Here are 12 Great Gift-Giving Ideas that won’t break your bank!

Themed Gift Baskets

Who doesn’t like movies, popcorn, and candy? Throw together an entertainment basket that includes your favorite “must see” DVD, or a movie rental coupon (and don’t leave out the some snow caps and gummy worms)!  How about an Asian-themed-cuisine? Visit an ethnic market and put together a sushi-kit. Include seaweed paper, chop sticks, and soy sauce (for all of you sodium friendly patrons).
Credits to Rayhawk for her comment on Medical Research Links Gift Giving to Longevity!

Personalized Calendar

The internet offers a multitude of calendar templates. Get creative and personalize a calendar for someone you love and include pictures of your fondest memories with them. Mark in any special dates such as Birthdays and Holidays. Maybe roll up a few dollars and stick it on a random Saturday for an “ice-cream” date.

Magazine Subscriptions

These are great because the novelty lasts all year. It’s like a new gift every month! Magazine subscriptions are suitable for just about anyone and they’re a great gift-giving idea if you don’t know what to get someone.

• For example: It’s your father-in-law’s birthday and you’re not sure if the technicolor pentagram and penguin tie you’ve chosen will suit him (but you know he likes to fish) so get him a subscription to Outdoor World!

Board Games

Bring back nostalgic memories with a classic, old school board game! You’re bound to get a shriek of excitement as the receiver of this novel gift idea recalls the old days!

Herb Garden

Purchase a plastic rectangular gardening tray ($2.57 at Home Depot) along with an array of assorted seeds like basil, rosemary, and thyme. Tell them you’ll be back in a few weeks to reap the harvest!

Muffins & Locally Made Jams

Support small businesses and stimulate your local economy!

BIG Jar of Candy!

Purchase a large jar (thrift stores have lots of fun shapes and sizes), and fill the jar with gummy bears, lollipops, tootsie rolls, and laffy taffy (I’m getting hungry). Dollar stores usually sell bulk candy for cheap! Tie lots of colorful ribbons around the lid and throw in a toothbrush too.

Office Stationary Gift-box

The best gift giving ideas are practical everyday items that we always need and use. Put together a gift box full of desk supplies. Include white out, a stapler, scissors, highlighters, pens, post its, paperclips, your homework…

Disposable Camera & Admission Pass to Wacky Tacky Land!

Some of the best gift giving ideas are experiential and can be enjoyed together. Play mini-gulf, bumper boats, laser tag! Take pictures and make lasting memories.

Deck of Cards and a mini bottle of gin (just kidding)

Purchase a deck of cards and a book full of card games! Make a night out of a good game of SNAP!

Homemade Gourmet Truffles

Store bought truffles can get pricey! However, gourmet truffle recipes are quite inexpensive to make yourself and they make an impressive gift-giving treat. 

A MicroGiving Donor Account

The best thing you can ever give someone is the gift of charitable ‘Giving’. Contact support@microgiving.com and we’ll gladly set up a Donor account for someone else on your behalf. The gift of giving is the most cost effective gift you’ll ever give in your life! It changes lives, makes you feel darn good, and there’s no gift of monetary value that compares.

Volunteer Work

Volunteer Work is one of the best opportunities to not only better your community, but also better yourself. Many don’t consider the many advantages of volunteering. Community service is a great opportunity to explore a new career field after a temporary leave from work or loss of job, while building up your resume, networking, and also giving back to the community. This post highlights a few benefits of volunteering:

Volunteer projects allow you to explore a new career field

The beauty of volunteer work, is that it gives you the opportunity to test the waters of a new field of interest  without taking on the risk of long-term investment or commitment. Volunteer work gives you the flexibility to sample different fields and different roles while providing you with hands on experience and as much training as you want for free, risk free! 

Volunteer work builds your resume

One of the best ways to sharpen your resume credentials is through building up your volunteer work. This shows employers that 1) you care about the community, and 2) you are motivated, committed, and willing to put in extra time and effort into a greater cause.  Employers are looking for determined prospects, and your involvement in volunteer projects will make your resume stand out and gleam! 

Community service = community networking 

Volunteer work is a fantastic way to make new contacts, gain references, get your name out there, and earn yourself a smashing letter of recommendation from someone of charitable merit! Community service allows you to work alongside people who can answer your questions, allow you to grow, and grant you the opportunity to try out different roles and positions. Community service networking will allow you to climb the ladder of success in an exciting and promising new field.

Volunteering simply betters the community 

At the end of the day, if the field you’ve chosen isn’t for you, at least you’ve done something to better the community. The world is full of opportunity, so move on to the next! 

Volunteer work can give you more than the mere satisfaction of doing something good. Volunteering is a wonderful opportunity to explore a new career field and switch up the humdrum of your everyday routine, build a strong resume that screams “I’m competent, motivated, and a jolly good community citizen”, network with the right people, and also do your part to  better the community. 
 

We’d love to here from you! 

• Have you ever considered volunteer work as an opportunity to explore new career options?
• How might the experience of volunteer work benefit your resume or your career skills? 
• What are some other benefits of volunteering? 

Community Service Ideas

Volunteer Opportunities

This post provides some great ideas for fun volunteer opportunities you can do with your children and family! In fact, why not turn community service into a “volunteer vacation”?

There are many opportunities  to better the community that you can turn into a family get-away. You’ll find the experience of helping others, your community, and the environment far more rewarding than any trip to Wacky Tacky Land. 

Volunteer to help the poor & homeless communities

Many disaster relief victims across the country, such as those affected by Hurricane Katrina and the Midwest floods are in need of a new home.  Habitat for Humanity provides excellent volunteer opportunities to help rebuild homes for poor and homeless people across the country. Take a trip with your family to a new state you’ve always wanted to visit and build community relationships with other volunteers as you rebuild new homes for the poor and homeless.  Anyone can help and skills aren’t necessary – just an open mind and an open hand that is willing to better the community.

Volunteer your community service to help children with disabilities

There are plenty of state camps that need volunteers to help children with special needs. This is a great opportunity to volunteer with your family and enjoy a great vacation trip. Visit a local state park to enrich the lives of special needs children through fun activities such as aquatics, canoeing, nature studies, and rock climbing.

Volunteer to help animals

Great family volunteer opportunities can be found at animal sanctuaries.  Your children will love to participate in building habitats, saving wildlife, feeding baby animals, supervising little critters during recovery and rehabilitation, fundraising, and engaging in educational activities. There are over 300 animal sanctuaries in the United States. Get out the house and plan a trip to help animals in need.

Better the community by saving the environment

There are many national wildlife services that need volunteers to participate in environmental refuge activities. Visiting a natural refuge makes for a fantastic vacation and volunteer opportunity for your family. Enjoy fun environment activities with your children like restoring endangered plants on riverbanks, aiding special wildlife projects, and photographing natural resources for laboratory research. Environment and wildlife volunteer opportunities can be located across the country.

A little creative brainstorming with the family can unleash an entire world of fun volunteer opportunities. We’ve listed just a few ways that your family can better the community…

We’d love to hear from you! 

• What are some community service activities that you personally enjoy? 
• What are some other fun volunteer projects you can do with your family?