There are many methods you can use to identify needs in your community.

Here are just a few creative ideas:

Mind Mapping

• Draw your map (issue, root causes and effects on individuals and community).

• Consider the following questions:

-What are the issues facing your community?
-What are the root causes of this problem?
-What are the effects on the individuals and the community?

• Brainstorm project ideas.

• Evaluate and prioritize the project ideas.

• Focus on your top idea.

Conduct a Survey

• Ask young people what their greatest concerns are.

• Give them a list and have them rank their concerns.

Hold a Community Forum

• Have an open microphone to share community problems/dreams.

Interview Senior Citizens

• Ask senior citizens about societal changes (for the best/worst). What are their greatest fears in the community? What are they proud of in your hometown?

Three Wishes

• Throughout the week, ask people what they would wish for (given unlimited power/resources) if they were granted three wishes for their community.

• Keep a list of the dreams people share.

Watch the News

• What stories leave you feeling disturbed or unsettled? Cut out articles in the newspaper that make you sad or angry.

Utopian Towns

• Think of all the places you’ve been. What is your favorite city to visit? Why? How is that different from your hometown?

I Have a Dream

• Read Martin Luther King’s well-known speech.

• Think about your own personal/community dreams, and write them down somewhere.

Group Goals

• Does your town have a set of goals? What about your school/organization/neighborhood?

• Research and find out what the groups around you are trying to do.

• Look around – What special events are going on around town? What organizations/ businesses/schools are really struggling to reach their goals or keep up with society?

Ask Your Legislators

• Find out key issues at the forefront of the national agenda. What are the serious dangers that face our country and our world?

Sixty-Minute Search

• Get a street map of your community, divide up the territory, and have group members search their area for needed improvements. Mark the “hot spots” on each map and discuss area needs.