By Samantha Selikoff
Giving back and performing acts of community service always provide important lessons and instill values in students. Making a difference does not need to mean donating money or running a donation drive, it can mean a variety of acts within a classroom or your everyday life. Here’s some “grab and go” ways to introduce and incorporate community service in your classroom. Check out the list below!
Introduce Community Service
Conduct a read-aloud featuring the books Just Help! or Eleanor Roosevelt: Her Path to Kindness.
October featuring Operation Gratitude
Operation Gratitude sends care packages that includes students’ letters to military troops serving the country. Teach a lesson about writing letters with resources on the nonprofit’s website or teach about design and technology while designing postcards on Canva.
November featuring Rubicon Trash or Treasure
November is typically known for Thanksgiving, but it is also the time that students are often finishing off their Halloween candy. Check out the Trash or Treasure campaign and learn how to keep candy wrappers out of landfills.
December featuring Care Packages
Most schools have the week off between Christmas and New Year’s Day but what about those whose jobs mean they can’t take the time off to spend with their families? In class we talk about the jobs that never stop working and read the book All Through the Night to discuss these jobs. Our community service club also creates care packages that contain coffee pods and candy as a small thank you to those that work during this time. The care packages are then delivered to hospitals or other establishments mentioned in the book.
January featuring Blankets of Hope
Blankets of Hope supplies groups and organizations with blankets to be donated to those who need them. Teach a lesson about empathy with resources on the nonprofit’s website or go a step further and have older students design a coloring page using Canva. Younger students can color these and include a letter and blanket for a homeless shelter.
February inspired by Do Something
Color Valentine cards and attach candy to them then deliver to a local assisted living or nursing home.
March featuring Community Service Field Trips
I love field trips and giving my students opportunities to explore the world around them. Field trips allow students to go places that they may not have the opportunity to do otherwise, such as Legoland, a Broadway show or TopGolf.
In college, I volunteered at a county food bank, and it opened my eyes. No matter what age you are, I believe anyone can benefit from volunteering at a food bank or pantry for at least one day during their lifetime. I recommend bringing a group of your students to tour the local food pantry. We bring our Community Service Club there as an annual trip to help out and learn about the organization.
April featuring Environmental Sustainability
April is a perfect opportunity to discuss environmental sustainability and climate change. There are many organizations that have sustainability as their focus that you can partner with. That way, your students can take part in various projects, whether it is starting a conservation campaign in your community, planting trees or creating a system to recycle your rainwater.
Looking for a place to start? Checkout Subject to Climate for a “grab and go” lesson plan or share the book What a Waste: Trash, Recycling, and Protecting our Planet to start a class discussion.
May featuring Community Gardens
Our school district is fortunate to have a community garden where students can plant seeds and later on collect the produce to eat or donate. Many public libraries have seed programs where you can either acquire or exchange seeds.
There are plenty of extension projects that can be paired with a community garden such as having a nutrition night for families with a guest nutritionist or dietitian from your local grocery store. Some of the books that feature community gardens or green space include Miguel’s Community Garden or Our Green City.
Your influence can extend long after students leave your classroom. I credit and thank my eight-grade English language arts teacher and my Community Service Club adviser, Mrs. Anderson, with inspiring me to start the club in my school that I now advise.
Local and county association can give back
Recently Morris County Council of Education Association member packaged hygiene kits that come from Clean the World. Once all the kits were fully packaged, they were donated to our Interfaith Food Pantry Network in Morris County.
Local associations may want to consider combining a community service project with community outreach funded by a Public Education Partnership (PEP) grant, formerly known as a Pride in Public Education grant. Visit njea.org/pep to learn more.
Samantha Selikoff is a teacher at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Rockaway Borough. She can be reached at samantha.selikoff@gmail.com.
These organizations and resources were referenced in this article:
September
Just Help!, by Sonia Sotomayor
Every night when Sonia goes to bed, Mami asks her the same question: How did you help today?
Eleanor Roosevelt: Her Path to Kindness, by Helaine Becker
When Eleanor Roosevelt was young, both of her parents died and she was sent to live with her grandmother, who showed her little affection. Despite her grief, Eleanor persevered.
October
The mission of Operation Gratitude is to say Thank You to our Military and First Responder communities, and to honor their service by creating opportunities for all Americans to express gratitude.
November
Rubicon’s mission is to end waste. Rubicon started Trash or Treasure™ in 2019 with this goal in mind, sharing a passion for sustainability with each and every collection box delivery. The Trash or Treasure™ box—and all its candy wrapper contents—goes on quite a journey!
December
All Through the Night: Important Jobs That Get Done at Night
As the night goes on, readers will see nurses, cleaners, delivery workers, doctors, police officers, journalists, and many other workers who help keep the city running all through the night.
January
The mission of Blankets of Hope is to inspire a global movement of kindness, one blanket at a time.
February
DoSomething was founded in 1993 with the vision that volunteerism could be as cool as sports. Since then, its commitment to fueling change has expanded far beyond making volunteerism cool—now, it’s leading a movement.
April
Subject to Climate envisions a world where everyone feels empowered to take action in solving climate change. To create this future, climate action begins in the classroom.
What a Waste: Trash, Recycling, and Protecting our Planet, by Jess French
This book will teach young budding ecologists about how our actions affect planet Earth and the big impact we can make by the little things we do.
May
Miguel’s Community Garden, by Ja-Nay Brown Wood
Miguel is throwing a party at his community garden for all of his friends, and he needs help searching for sunflowers to complete the celebration.
Our Green City, by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
An ideal sustainable city with a uniquely positive environmental message.
Local Associations
Clean the World’s purpose to make the world a better place is brought to life in part via its Global Recycling Program, diverting soap bars and plastic amenities, from landfills and manufacturing new soap bars.