Posts Tagged ‘holiday’

Give your dad the gift of volunteering this Father’s Day!

Wednesday, June 13th, 2012

Give your dad the gift of volunteering this Father’s Day! This Sunday is Father’s Day, and what better way to spend time with your father than by volunteering with your dad! Here are 5 ways to volunteer with your dad on father’s day!

 

  1. Celebrate Father’s Day by volunteering with your kids at a community garden. This is a great way to spend the day outdoors doing community service while bonding with your friends & family. You and your dad ca plant seeds, turn compost, and dig in the dirt.  Remember to bring all your banana peels, apple cores, any rotting lettuce you forgot was in the refrigerator, tops of carrots or peppers that you cut from your dinner preparations, and coffee grounds from your breakfast to also help feed the compost system.
  2. Celebrate all the fathers in your community by delivering donuts! That’s right, donuts are the ultimate comfort food and a pleasant way to say thank you to all the dads in your neighborhood. I’m pretty sure they’ll love this simple treat this father’s day.
  3. Looking for a way to have fun and do good at the same time? Do a Father’s Day 5K and 10K race. Volunteer opportunities include: Registration,  Split Timers – calling out times to runners as they pass by your assigned mile marker, Water Stop – fill cups of water, hand to runners, clap and cheer, clean up dropped cups after race, be race course marshalls by providing clear directions to keep runners on course, clap and cheer. At the finish line, you and your father can decorate, keep runners moving across the finish line, clap and cheer! Or you all can volunteer at the refreshment table by setting up food and drinks at the finish line for runners.
  4. Volunteer at a sports event! Many organizations are throwing Father’s Day fundraisers in the form of sports tournaments and events. Whether it’s a softball tournament, golf tournament, baseball tournament, etc, volunteer opportunities include, help with decorations,  distributing materials, providing decorations, or simply donating money to the organization and participating in the actual event. Volunteering at sporting events is a fun way to spend time with your father on his special day!
  5. Do something out of the ordinary! This father’s day, volunteer to just do something out of the ordinary to spend quality time with your dad to remind your dad that he is special to you and your family!

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Posted in Environment, Family Volunteering, Just for Fun | 1 Comment »

Make Your Memorial Day BBQ Worth More

Monday, May 28th, 2012

Happy Memorial Day! Today is the perfect time for backyard barbecue and busting out your favorite white jeans. Today is also the perfect time to do a little social good for your community.

Last week, we discussed how to honor your community’s military men and women on Memorial Day. You can take those ideas one step further by turning your Memorial Day celebration into a charity event to benefit military service men, veterans, families, or organizations working with military.

Choose a cause or individual that touches you, and raise donations during your party!

How will you do this? Check out our steps below for fundraising success!

  1. Brainstorm with guests prior to the event: Ask your guests to do some research on military needs and nonprofit organizations that work with military or military families. Come up with a list of organizations that you can relate to. Come together as a group to make a uniformed decision about which cause you want to support at your event. When you draw up your invitations, let guests know that you will be collecting donations at your celebration, if they would like to donate.
  2. Contact the organization that you wish to help: Give the organization of your choice a heads up that you are hosting a benefit event in hopes of collecting donations for them. The organization may have certain items they need instead of monetary donations. Some organizations do not accept monetary donations.
  3. Define a purpose: Let your guests know the purpose of your benefit event. Whether your purpose is to help out a veteran in your community, or to collect money for a nonprofit because you like their mission, it is important to let guests know where their money will be going.
  4. Assign a leader to the event: Assign a leader to the fundraising aspect of your event. Someone should be in charge of collecting the donations. It is also important to assign a role to the person who will be making the actual donation.
  5. Alert the community: Ask guests if they would like to get the community involved in fundraising. Do you want to make this event internal or external? These questions can be answered in line with your fundraising goals. What are you trying to accomplish through your event?
  6. Make it fun: Assign a theme to your Memorial Day event. Guests are more likely to have a good time and be more involved in your purpose, if they are enjoying the atmosphere. Whether your theme is Memorial Day barbecue or an All-American party, just have a good time!
  7. Say thank-you: Let your guests know how thankful you are for their contributions at your event. If you want to hold another similar event, guests are more likely to give again, if they feel like their actions were appreciated.
  8. Spread the benefits: If possible, let guests know how their donations benefited the community or the chosen organization or individual. Did their donation provide a military family in need with a warm meal? However your event benefited the community; let guests know so they have a tangible mission to hold on to.

 

Memorial Day is a great way to have fun with friends and family, but remember to support your troops while you are having fun!

Are you turning your Memorial Day celebration into more than just a day of barbecue? Let us know about it in the comments section below!

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Posted in Events, Fundraising & Development, Military | No Comments »

Hop, Hop The Easter Bunny Has Arrived

Friday, April 6th, 2012

The Easter Bunny is hopping through a town near you this weekend! How can you turn this day into more than just a day full of family, pastel eggs, and honey glazed ham? Turn your family’s Easter celebration into a project about social good!

While we all love to sit around with our family members to dye eggs and search the lawn for the golden egg, it can be a great time to teach your children about the power of service and volunteering through making it a day of charity. Try one of these Easter-themed service projects in your community this weekend; we guarantee it will only enhance the fun!

  • Easter bunny time:
    • Here comes our favorite bunny: Contact your local children or family shelter to see if they have an Easter bunny coming to visit. If they do not, volunteer to dress up for the kids so that they can share in the fun!
    • Breakfast with Peter Cottontail: Get together with your neighbors to plan a community breakfast with the neighborhood kids. It is a great time to meet your neighbors and have fun with the kids in your community. You can even plan a special Easter Bunny visit at the Breakfast.
    • Do the bunny hop: Plan an Easter theme dance in your town hall. Everyone is required to wear bunny ears at the event in honor of the Easter Bunny. Charge an admission price and donate your proceeds to your community’s favorite charity!
  • Where is the last Easter egg?
    • Community hunt: Organize a community Easter egg hunt with your other community members. All those who want to be involved can donate one bag of candy to be used in the hunt. Participants are encouraged to donate  a toy during the event for a child in need.
    • Egg hunt name call: Contact your local shelter or hospital about your egg hunt. Ask them for a list of children’s names who are asking for toy donations. Put a child’s name in each egg. Families can donate a toy to the name of the child whose egg they find.
    • Hold an Easter egg decoration competition: Are you skilled in the craft of egg dying? Decorate eggs for charity! Participants choose their favorite charity, and the winner gets all proceeds from the event donated to his or her charity.
  • Easter dress fashion show:
    • We all know, there is some pretty tacky Easter wear out there. Hold a tacky Easter dress fashion show! Donate all proceeds to charity.
  • It’s time for the parade:
    • Hold an Easter Day parade filled with all things Easter themed! It is a great way to get your community to volunteer together and it will be a fun way to start the day!

 

Whether you are celebrating Easter this weekend or just spending time together with your friends and family, the weather is perfect to get out and be active in your community! We hope that these tips will help your share the power of social kid with your community and family. Happy Easter!

How are you celebrating the power of service this weekend? Share with us in the comments section below, we would love to hear your stories!

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Posted in Events, Family Volunteering, Fundraising & Development, Kids | No Comments »

Make Valentine’s Day Go Beyond February 14

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Tomorrow is the big day, Valentine’s Day (men don’t forget)! While you may be thinking, “why would I actually want to celebrate this day it is just another excuse to spend money?” This year you can get a little more out of your presents than just making your sweetheart swoon over your gift.

Why not choose a Valentine’s gift that gives back instead of just gives for a couple days. Whether it is fair-trade chocolate, flowers that fight causes, or a teddy bear for charity you are sure to make an impression with these gifts!

  1. Flowers are always a good choice when it comes to your Valentine. How about choosing flowers that not only look gorgeous on her work desk or dinner table, but also give back to her favorite charity. Companies such as organicbouquet.com do just that! You have the choice of choosing from a bouquet of flowers in their Flowers for Good program. You can choose flowers that will give back to organizations such as the American Lung Association, Women For Women, Amnesty International, or PETA. Your sweetheart is sure to be impressed with this gift from the heart!
  2. Looking to put your honey’s feet in style, why not try TOMS shoes? For every pair of shoes that you purchase, another pair is given to a child in need. This is great way to not only bring a smile to your significant other’s face, but also give a smile to a child in need!
  3. Does your lover have a sweet tooth? Fair-trade chocolate is the perfect gift to satisfy a sweet tooth! Companies such as TCHO Chocolates and Divine Chocolate donate a portion of their proceed to fair-trade practices or practice fair-trade practices.
  4. Is your Valentine not much of a chocolate fanatic? Cookies are always a great gift for any holiday! Cookies for Kid’s Cancer not only taste great they also donate 100 percent of profits to fund pediatric cancer research!
  5. Looking for date ideas? Volunteer together for your favorite cause. It is a great way to spend time together on something that you are both passionate about.
  6. Give cookies or valentines cards to those in need. You can make cookies for your local retirement home, make valentines cards for a homeless shelter, or visit a hospital.
  7. Perform a small act of kindness for someone in your neighborhood, work, or a complete stranger. Whether you are shoveling someone’s driveway or mowing his or her lawn. You can truly show someone the power of love just through a simple act of kindness.

This Valentine’s Day do more to spread the love. You are sure to impress that special someone, while you also spread the love to someone who may need it more with these simple Valentines tips.

We hope these suggestions get you out of the Valentines Day rut and help you celebrate the power of love. Have a happy Valentines Day and please share with us how you are celebrating, we would love to hear about it!

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Posted in Events, Inspire, Volunteerism | No Comments »