Civic Projects for Children: Part Two of Three

Each semester I strive to teach the children in my after school program that they are an important part of a larger community as well as wonderful individuals in their own right. They choose a community service project to work on and hopefully it will lead them toward that understanding.

In the first article I wrote about what children could do to help improve the immediate environment in which they live-their school, home, parks or other public buildings they might visit. In this second article, I have some ideas for the larger community in which they live-shelters for the homeless, food pantries, animal shelters and retirement communities.

When the children choose what they wish to work on, I have them look at how much time it will take, what the investment of resources will be to them and what the payoff will be to the community. I have them explore why their work matters. The children choose the final project, though I choose the options for them to explore-I vet them to make sure that they are viable options that they can complete as well as ones that they are willing to work on.

The final project is important. The children need to feel a sense of ownership for it, the goal needs to matter to them and they need have a clear and easy step of steps to follow in order to achieve their goal no matter how old or young they are. It helps to chart the progress toward that goal well and often, and to let them know how splendid they are even if they did not achieve the goal they set for themselves.

That’s how to get started. Now here are some ideas that have worked in the past to engage the children in the larger community.

For the Hungry: In almost every community across America there is at least one food pantry for people of low incomes to visit. Some families in your group might even take part, particularly in the economic times that we face today, and that might be something to consider before putting this option up. This is a simple one though, easy to track and easy to do. Pick a charity that takes food items-usually canned or non-perishable boxed goods-and make posters telling what items can be donated, where they will be taken and for how long the collection will be going on. Have the children make the posters and help them decide what is important to be on them and how to get the message across in the best possible way. Chart what is collected, either how much total or even how much of single items. I would suggest doing this in the summer or spring, and I say that because so many organizations do food drives during the fall and before the winter holidays. People are actually hungry all year round, not just from Thanksgiving to New Years. Every season should be the season of giving, but isn’t usually. It’s a good reminder to your kids that taking care of others who need it isn’t seasonal. Call around to different places and see what the centers actually need also. If they have two shelves of boxed noodles but no rice or beans, focus on the later. Do what will do the most good and engage your children in that process.