Fulfilling Ways Schools Can Give Back to the Community
As schools start up again soon, school administrators can begin brainstorming fulfilling ways their school can give back to the community. From creating a food drive for food banks to collecting gently used clothes for a donation drive, there are many ways teachers, faculty, and students can help out their town.
Create a Donation Drive
Donation drives usually involve donating gently used clothes, books, toys, and carefully packaged personal care items. Instead of hosting a regular drive, consider partnering with a military veteran charity to raise funds.
Starting a drive encourages others in the local area to donate clothes and coats they no longer need. Create a list of desired items to hand out to students before the drive starts. Consider adding things like scarves, hats, sweaters, coats, and business wear.
Collect Food for Food Banks
A food drive’s something plenty of schools do around Thanksgiving and the holiday season; however, there are periods of time in between quarters where schools could host soft food drives. A soft food drive would comprise of donating small things throughout the school year, like boxed and canned goods.
Sometimes, you may donate other packaged goods, such as leftover cafeteria food, to local homeless shelters. Small food drives like this help rebuild the giving spirit throughout the year, rather than doing it once or twice a year.
Host a Book Drive
Instead of holding a book fair where children need to spend money, try out a book drive. A book drive involves bringing gently used books for all ages to swap out or donate to others. You only need to create two separate stations for the book drive.
The first station will create bins for donations at the end of the book drive event, and the second station is available for all to pick out any book they want before donating the rest. Ensure the books families pick are age-appropriate and in good condition.
Create and Send Holiday Cards
Your community celebrates many different holidays, so consider listing out every major holiday and create cards to send to others. Be sure to also send cards to nursing homes, homeless shelters, and deployed soldiers. When selecting a holiday, try buying colors that coordinate with the occasion, like red and green for Christmas.
Encourage Students To Help Others in Need
While lending an outstretched hand to others, encourage students to do the same to others in need. Staff should work to inspire students to reach out and help others in situations like:
Bullying
Adjusting to a new school
Struggling in school or at home
It’s never too late to find fulfilling ways schools can give back to the community. Spend time searching and developing your give-back efforts to show residents the school cares and wants to be there for the town. Every opportunity schools take to better the community teaches workers and students lessons in compassion and friendship.
