Updated: March 15, 2022

Community service is exactly what it sounds like: services that you do to benefit your community. If that sounds a little broad, it’s because it is -- community service can take a lot of different forms since there’s SO much you can do to help folks out in your area.

But that might leave you wondering where to start. (Spoiler alert: this is where you start!) We’ve put together a list of community service project ideas, organized by what you’ll be doing. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. often spoke of a Beloved Community–-one that requires acts of service based on justice and equal opportunities.

Whether that’s collecting, teaching, volunteering, or something else, you should be able to find something to inspire you to get out there and do.

Collect and Donate Things for Your Community:

If you look around your community, you’ll probably find at least a few places that accept donations -- like food pantries, family shelters, and schools, just to name a few. Here’s a super comprehensive guide on running your own donation drive, and here are some places that accept donations.

1. Collect and donate school supplies.
2. Collect and donate backpacks.
3. Collect grocery coupons for local food pantries to help them with costs.
4. Collect and donate non-perishable food items.
5. Collect unused makeup to donate to domestic violence shelters.
6. Collect Halloween candy to send to deployed military service members who can’t be home to celebrate.
7. Collect and donate hygiene products, including period products.
8. Donate or recycle unwanted clothes and textiles to support vulnerable populations and protect the planet.
9. Collect stuffed animals.
10. Collect SAT books and donate them to a library.

Do Things for Your Community:

Some of these take a few minutes, and others a bit longer, but they all help out in some way. Especially try pitching in to do tasks for neighbors who can’t do them themselves, like folks who are ill, elderly, or busy with work or childcare.

1. Walk kids home from school.
2. Rake leaves for an elderly neighbor.
3. Mow your neighbor’s lawn.
4. Offer dog-walking services.
5. Clean up cigarette butts on the ground.
6. If you know another language, be a translator at parent-teacher conferences.
7. Babysit during PTA meetings.
8. Foster a shelter animal.
9. Take and donate photos during community events.
10. Donate blood (if you’re at least 17, or 16 with parental consent).
11. Contact your reps about local issues.
12. Share mental health resources with your community.

Teach Things to Your Community:

We’ve all got things that we’re good at, so why not share those skills with others? If teaching feels a little intimidating at first, try using these tips for teaching anything to anyone.

1. Help kids with their homework.
2. Teach underclassmen safe social media practices.
3. Give free music lessons.
4. Coach a youth sports team.
5. Educate beachgoers about sustainability.
6. Teach adults in your life internet skills.
7. Give a seminar on driving safety.
8. Teach CPR (after getting certified).
9. Help English language learners practice with conversation.
10. Teach people how to register to vote.

Fix Things in Your Community:

If you see a problem in your community, consider doing something about it! Sometimes the best service we can do the places we love is to take care of them.

1. Start a little, free library.
2. Place campfire safety plaques near campsites.
3. Clean up your local park.
4. Beautify your area with seed bombs.
5. Help a neighbor or community org paint fence or building.
6. Spruce up a run-down playground.
7. Help your neighbors with repairs.
8. Offer to patch up clothes and stuffed toys.
9. Organize books at the library.
10. Give IT help to local adults.

Host Things in Your Community:

Here’s your chance to flex your event-planning muscles and put on something that will bring folks together. After all, the only thing better than community service is doing it with friends.

1. Host a bake sale.
2. Host a clothing swap.
3. Host a holiday meal.
4. Host a competitive book drive.
5. Host activities for kids in hospitals.
6. Host a dog wash.
7. Host an immunization clinic.
8. Host a river clean-up.
9. Host a gardening party.
10. Host a study group.
11. Publicly host and share your creativity to help uplift and revitalize your community.

Make Things For Your Community:

There’s something special about receiving a handmade gift, and we’re sure there are plenty of people and places that would really appreciate it. Make and send items to folks at elderly care facilities, family shelters, or hospitals to make their days a little brighter.

1. Knit scarves or hats for families in shelters.
2. Bake cookies and snacks for food pantries.
3. Write letters to seniors in care facilities.
4. Make quilts or blankets for kids in hospitals.
5. Build birdhouses for your neighbors.
6. Make Ramadan or Eid cards for your local mosque.
7. Design a community mural.
8. Put together first aid kits for local shelters.
9. Make birthday cards for kids in homeless shelters.
10. Produce a community newsletter.

Volunteer For Things in Your Community:

The cool thing about volunteering is that you can do it just about anywhere (even online!), so hopefully this gets you thinking. For more inspiration, we’ve got a few other places you can volunteer and a bunch of volunteer opportunities with DoSomething.org.

1. Volunteer at your local library.
2. Volunteer to chaperone a field trip.
3. Volunteer with a local nonprofit.
4. Volunteer at an animal shelter.
5. Volunteer at a community center.
6. Volunteer as a lifeguard.
7. Volunteer to be a crossing guard.
8. Volunteer to do social media for a local org.
9. Volunteer to help set up a community event.
10. Volunteer at a food pantry.