100 K-12 Service Learning Projects (Free Tracking Logs!)

• Environmental and Out of doors Service Studying Initiatives
• College and Schooling Service Studying Initiatives
• Well being and Wellness Service Studying Initiatives
• Get your free printable group service log bundle!

Service studying tasks have turn out to be an necessary a part of faculty tradition, and for good cause. These actions get children concerned of their communities, creating empathy and a way of generosity. We’ve received challenge concepts that are perfect for children of all ages, whether or not they’re engaged on their very own, as a category, or with their households. Have a look and get impressed!

New to service studying? Try What Is Service Learning? and Service Learning 101: Making Learning Real and Relevant.

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Environmental and Out of doors Service Studying Initiatives

1. Plant bushes

Be part of the Arbor Day Tree Campus K-12 program and switch your faculty campus into an arboretum whereas instructing different college students to turn out to be tree stewards for the long run.

2. Help a park

Begin by taking a discipline journey to a close-by native, state, or national park. Discover what it has to supply, but additionally take into account what it must be even higher. Extra picnic tables? Higher interpretive indicators? Inclusive playground gear? A common litter cleanup? College students can suggest these concepts to park officers and provide you with methods to make them occur.

3. Take part in citizen science

Citizen science tasks are terrific service studying concepts. Plant a milkweed monarch waystation, start a pollinator garden to help bees, or assist track the progress of migrating species. You’ll discover much more citizen science projects for kids here.

Manage a roadside or park cleanup day, the place college students and group members collect to choose up litter and tidy your shared areas. Then, provide you with distinctive and inventive concepts to cease littering for good!

5. Host a trash-to-art present

Invite college students and members of the general public to upcycle outdated gadgets—even trash—into unimaginable artwork tasks. For those who reside in a coastal space, try the Washed Ashore program. You may work with them to carry their present to your individual group.

6. Conduct an vitality audit

Assist your faculty buildings preserve vitality by evaluating the utilization of lights, computer systems, and different electrical gadgets. Or begin a marketing campaign to encourage households to conduct their very own vitality audits and make necessary adjustments at house. Learn more from the U.S. Department of Energy.

7. Unfold the phrase on composting

Composting is an environment friendly method to make use of up meals and natural waste and create wealthy, wholesome soil as an alternative. Work together with your meals providers division to create a compost pile at college, or train households how one can compost at house. You possibly can even arrange a group composting station. The EPA has good information to get you started.

8. Set up rain barrels

Preserve water by channeling rain into barrels to be used in watering gardens throughout drier days. Put them in at college for varsity gardens, or assist households create and set up rain barrels at house. Here’s how rain barrels work.

Extra Environmental and Out of doors Service Studying Concepts

9. Create indicators to boost consciousness about recycling in public areas.
10. Design a marketing campaign to scale back single-use plastics.
11. Construct birdhouses or pollinator resorts for native parks.
12. Manage a clothes or toy swap to scale back waste.
13. Paint storm drains with “Drains to River” reminders.
14. Accumulate and recycle electronics responsibly.
15. Develop a strolling/biking-to-school consciousness marketing campaign.
16. Create posters to advertise water conservation.
17. Undertake a freeway, park, or seashore for ongoing cleanup.
18. Construct raised backyard beds for an area daycare or nursing house.
19. Create a pollinator backyard for butterflies and bees.
20. Manage an invasive-plant-species elimination day.
21. Develop an academic path with signage about native wildlife.
22. Plant native flowers in uncared for public areas.
23. Conduct an area air or water high quality survey and share outcomes.
24. Accumulate used books to repurpose the pages into seed-starting pots.
25. Create a “inexperienced ideas” column for the college publication.

College and Schooling Service Studying Initiatives

26. Begin a faculty recycling program

Go inexperienced! Get all the resources you need to set up and run a stellar school recycling program here. Have already got one? Encourage college students to seek out methods to make it much more efficient.

Even when meals insecurity isn’t a difficulty, wholesome consuming typically is. Junk meals is usually cheaper than wholesome meals, and many individuals don’t have prepared entry to a spot to develop their very own fruits and veggies. A college or group backyard lets children dig their fingers into the soil and assist present some much-needed recent produce for others. The USDA has some tips here to help you get started.

28. Beautify your faculty

Does your faculty have a graffiti, trash, or vandalism drawback? Even when it doesn’t, we guess your hallways and grounds might be a little bit brighter and extra welcoming. Give college students a way of possession by having them paint murals, decorate the hallways, or spruce up the bathrooms.

29. Combat bullying by empowering pupil upstanders

Probably the most significant anti-bullying applications are those that college students begin themselves. Begin a service studying challenge that conjures up others to face as much as bullying after they see it. Here’s more about empowering student upstanders.

30. Participate within the St. Jude Math-a-Thon

The St. Jude Math-a-Thon is designed to work together with your faculty’s current curriculum. College students elevate cash from family and friends and resolve math issues in grade-specific Funbooks, developed by Scholastic. College students additionally learn the way math performs an necessary position within the lifesaving work taking place each day at St. Jude.

31. Manage a e-book drive

Studying Is Elementary believes that each child deserves to learn to learn and to have books to get pleasure from. Team up with the organization to run a local book drive, and take a look at a few of their different volunteer alternatives too. Books for Africa is one other terrific group that wants your e-book donations.

32. Present translation providers

Chances are high your faculty produces its communications in English alone. Nevertheless it’s doubtless that not everybody in your group speaks English fluently. Attain out to all members of your group by translating your faculty supplies into different languages spoken domestically. Children in international language courses can do among the work themselves, or they will hunt down neighbors and pals who may be capable to assist.

33. Tutor or arrange peer mentoring applications

Older children serving to youthful children—what a good way to construct a way of group! Pair up college students to create a buddy system, or arrange a tutoring program run totally by children. Learn more about peer mentoring programs here.

Extra College and Schooling Service Studying Concepts

34. Create a homework assist membership.
35. Manage a faculty provide drive for under-resourced faculties.
36. Learn aloud to kids at an area daycare or library.
37. Create academic posters for lecture rooms (e.g., multiplication info).
38. Develop digital literacy workshops for seniors.
39. Manage a “STEM Day” with hands-on experiments for youthful grades.
40. Document audiobooks for visually impaired college students.
41. Construct a Little Free Library locally.
42. Interview native veterans and create a historical past challenge.
43. Associate with native museums to create academic discipline journeys.
44. Write and carry out academic performs for elementary faculties.
45. Begin a pen pal program with college students in one other area/nation.
46. Train youthful college students about web security.
47. Host a math or science competitors.
48. Create a tutoring hotline or on-line assist web site.
49. Host a cultural truthful to have fun range within the faculty group.
50. Create an after-school membership to assist children study one thing new.

Well being and Wellness Service Studying Initiatives

51. Practice information canines

Practice or foster information canines or assist with administrative duties for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Pet raisers will be any age, whether or not you’re 9 or 90. No prior expertise is important!

52. Craft blankets for teenagers

Sew, knit, or crochet safety blankets for youngsters in hospitals or in any other case in want by Project Linus. Pair this challenge with a e-book or toy drive for sick children; teenagers may also look into volunteer alternatives at their native hospitals.

53. Run a meals drive

Meals insecurity stays a serious situation in our nation, and organizing a meals drive is a basic service studying challenge. Go to Feeding America to seek out organizations that want your assist.

54. Serve at a meals pantry

Many children can’t think about what it’s like not figuring out the place your subsequent meal will come from. Assist develop their sense of empathy by volunteering at meals pantries or soup kitchens. Make it a daily exercise to allow them to type bonds with the area people members. FoodPantries.org has a listing of locations that welcome volunteers.

55. Sculpt empty bowls to feed the hungry

This concept is an element artwork challenge and half service studying. Children sculpt and adorn ceramic bowls, then use them to host a fundraising occasion that raises cash for native meals pantries and different organizations.

56. Maintain a hygiene drive

Meals isn’t the one necessity that some folks battle to supply for his or her households. Additionally they want cleaning soap, toothpaste, deodorant, interval merchandise, and different hygiene provides. Work with native shelters to seek out out what they want, and maintain a drive to gather these gadgets. Or order a Soap Saves Lives Box and assemble kits to be distributed at native meals pantries or different areas.

Children at this time face quite a lot of psychological well being challenges, however they’re additionally extra conscious of the significance of excellent psychological well being than earlier generations. College students who wish to assist psychological well being amongst their friends can develop a service studying challenge that makes an actual distinction. Discover empowering mental health activities for teens here.

58. Construct Jared Containers for hospitals

Sick children who spend a number of time within the hospital welcome new methods to maintain busy. That’s the place Busy Boxes are available in! Run a drive to gather small toys, video games, puzzles, and extra. Then package deal them up (for much more enjoyable, adorn the bins!) and donate them to kids’s hospitals and different amenities that assist sick children.

59. Begin Meatless Mondays

Meatless Mondays aren’t about selling vegetarianism or veganism. They’re merely a method to encourage us all to contemplate the influence consuming meat has on the planet (it would shock you!). Children can attempt Meatless Mondays at house, plus work with their faculty cafeteria to supply meals with out meat that day too. Learn about the Meatless Monday campaign here.

60. Host a St. Jude Trike-a-Thon

Preschool and daycare kids will study trike and riding-toy security and the significance of serving to others, all whereas having enjoyable and incomes prizes. Launched in 1983, St. Jude Trike-a-Thon fundraisers present educators with a weeklong curriculum that features a sequence of interactive classes with two charming characters, Bikewell Bear and Pedals the Bunny. Academic supplies—storybooks, movies, and coloring books—that assist studying are additionally offered. All of this provides an academic bent to your huge trike occasion and your efforts for St. Jude! Click here to find out more.

Extra Well being and Wellness Service Studying Concepts

61. Begin a lunchtime strolling membership.
62. Manage a sports activities gear drive for underserved children.
63. Create a mindfulness and stress reduction membership.
64. Make care packages with hygiene gadgets for shelters.
65. Manage a motorbike security rodeo for teenagers.
66. Host a school-wide hydration problem.
67. Train youthful college students easy health routines.
68. Host a “screen-free week” problem.
69. Associate with native hospitals to gather child provides for brand new mother and father.
70. Manage a blood drive (with a companion group).
71. Create health-related podcasts or movies for youthful college students.
72. Manage a sports activities day for teenagers with disabilities.
73. Accumulate first-aid provides for catastrophe reduction teams.
74. Create and distribute recipe playing cards for fast, wholesome meals.
75. Manage a wholesome snacks drive for after-school applications.

76. Welcome a refugee household

Hundreds of individuals flee their homelands and search asylum in the USA yearly. Getting right here is only one a part of an extended and infrequently troublesome journey. Communities will help refugees settle in and really feel at house by working with Refugee Council USA. This can be a great challenge for college kids and oldsters to work on collectively.

77. Begin an consciousness marketing campaign

As soon as children discover a difficulty close to and pricey to their hearts, they’ll soar wholeheartedly into spreading the phrase. The beauty of consciousness campaigns is that the subject will be absolutely anything: anti-bullying, wholesome existence, environmental points, and on and on. Children actually get an opportunity to be inventive with these campaigns, with one thing to construct on everybody’s strengths. Learn how to plan an awareness campaign here.

78. Stroll for Water

Open college students’ eyes to what it means to reside with out easy accessibility to scrub water with a 5K like no different. Contributors full the race carrying a gallon of water, like so many individuals all over the world should do a number of instances every day. Learn about this incredible service learning project from H2O for Life here.

When members of the group come along with households in have to construct new houses from the bottom up, everybody reaps the rewards. The Habitat for Humanity Youth Programs present quite a lot of volunteer alternatives for teenagers as younger as 5.

80. Thank our troops

Say thanks in a significant method to troops serving abroad by volunteering to assemble care packages for Operation Gratitude. You too can arrange a letter-writing or holiday-card marketing campaign.

Have a look round your neighborhood and discover a place that would use an injection of creativity. Then plan a challenge the place college students work with members of the group to make one thing lovely! Check out our collection of fun collaborative art projects here.

82. Socialize with senior residents

Getting older can typically be lonely, particularly for these in nursing houses and different senior amenities. There are many methods for teenagers to assist, from sending letters and playing cards to spending time studying with or to a senior buddy. Find more ways for kids to volunteer with seniors here.

83. Knit for charity

Knitting helps children construct their guide dexterity and improves hand-eye coordination. Mix these advantages with charitable giving to create a enjoyable, inventive service studying challenge. Organizations like Hats 4 the Homeless and Heat Up America take your knitted items and get them to those that want them. Find a whole list of knitting charities here.

84. Assist an area animal shelter

Animal-loving children will probably be thrilled to assist native pets in want. Some shelters have minimal age necessities for volunteers, however they typically desperately want provides and toys that youngsters will help accumulate. Plus, their animals are at all times on the lookout for good houses! Problem your children to provide you with creative ways to match homeless pets with their forever families. Contact your native shelter, or visit the ASPCA’s website for ideas.

Extra Group Help and Advocacy Service Studying Concepts

85. Manage a toy drive through the holidays.
86. Create thank-you playing cards for important employees.
87. Host a restore cafe the place volunteers repair damaged gadgets free of charge.
88. Accumulate musical devices for college kids who can’t afford them.
89. Associate with native authorities to advertise voter registration.
90. Manage a babysitting evening for folks in want.
91. Host a free clothes closet for the group.
92. Develop a web site itemizing native assets (meals pantries, shelters, clinics).
93. Host an intergenerational storytelling evening.
94. Develop a marketing campaign to assist accessible playgrounds.
95. Associate with native companies to create youth job-shadowing alternatives.
96. Manage a “thank a trainer” occasion.
97. Run a donation marketing campaign for catastrophe victims.
98. Accumulate family cleansing provides for households in want.
99. Advocate for safer crosswalks and sidewalks close to faculties.
100. Create an anti-littering PSA for native radio or TV.

Get your free printable group service log bundle!

Remember to seize our free group service monitoring sheets, making it simple to your college students to maintain a group service log. The bundle contains choices for each youthful and older college students. Simply fill out the shape on this web page to get yours!

What are your go-to service studying tasks? Come share your experiences and ask for recommendation within the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, try these Volunteer Opportunities for Kids and Teens and take the 30 Days of Service Challenge.