30 Kid-Friendly Service Ideas for November

November: A Month of Giving Back and Thankfulness

With Thanksgiving coming up, it is a natural time to begin talking to kids about being thankful for what they have and think about ways to give back to your community. We hope you’ll find our 30 Kid-Friendly Service Ideas for November useful.

My roommate from college, Liz does an act of kindness or service with her three kids ages 3, 6 and 8 on each day of November. She kindly shared her ideas (many featured below) with us. She says “We usually do more at school items- like thanking more support staff, sitting with someone new at lunch. We also normally buy Humane Society items and deliver them or donate items from their amazon wish list. We also volunteer to pack food. Each item on our list is a great opportunity to talk to kids about issues- safety, poverty, hunger, environmental issues, lonely elderly, homelessness. I like to remind them of their privilege and that it’s about giving, not receiving.”

Tips
  1. Talk about what it means to be thankful and what it means in your own family. Here are some ways we talk about thankfulness during November.
  2. Encourage them to think of things to add to your list together. This will give them ownership of the project and build their confidence and self-worth as they complete the tasks they thought of themselves.
  3. Go beyond monetary donations. Giving a portion of an allowance or earning money to donate is a great way to teach children about sharing but it also is about the effort and thought put into the task too.
  4. Talk about it after each activity. How did it make your child feel to give back? What did they learn through this activity?
30 Kid-Friendly Service Ideas for November
  1. Thank a support staff member at school (bus driver, lunchroom monitor and cook/specialist etc)
  2. Call a grandparent just because
  3. Thank first responders with a thank you note or small gift
  4. Collect small toys for Operation Christmas Child
  5. Write a letter to a vet
  6. Sort toys to donate. Here are some local places accepting donations. https://worcestercentralkidscalendar.com/spring-cleaning-local-charities-accepting-your-donations/
  7. Donate animal toys, food or bedding to a local animal shelter
  8. Tell someone they are doing a good jobthank you note with envelope and hand holding a pen
  9. Go through outdoor clothing that has been outgrown to donate to Dress for Success Worcester or Abby’s House
  10. Sponsor a local child through The CASA Project.
  11. Use your voice: draw or create a poster to advocate for a cause or a choice
  12. Smile at everyone you see today
  13. Send a letter to a friend
  14. Perform an act of kindness to someone
  15. Shop the Worcester Food Pantry’s wishlist and bring the donation to the pantry together.
  16. Leave change for someone near a vending machine
  17. Leave supplies at the laundry mat
  18. Drop a treat off to a neighbor
  19. Pay someone a compliment
  20. Call Aunt or Uncle to say hi
  21. Make a thank you gift for a teacher
  22. Pay it forward – pay for a snack or coffee for someone
  23. Help pick up trash in your neighborhood or at a local park
  24. Donate to a charity of your choice
  25. Planting the Seed Toy Drive Donation
  26. Gather items from Veteran’s Inc Wishlist in Worcester and deliver them
  27. Send a note to isolated elderly at a nursing home
  28. Spend time at an animal shelter, walk a dog
  29. Donate to a bed for every child
  30. Send a letter to a friend
Need More Ideas?

Project Giving Kids has more specific opportunities for families in the area. As a nonprofit, Project Giving Kids’ core mission is to help teach empathy and social responsibility to young people. They do that by providing technology that connects kids, teens, and families to high-quality, age-appropriate volunteer activities with their network of nonprofit partners across the country.

What are some ways you and your family engage in acts of kindness? What did we miss on our list?

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