1. Random Acts Of Kindness. Do something nice for someone when they least expect it. 

 

2. Make a “helping jar.” Save leftover lunch money, random coins found on the sidewalk and the surprise $10 bill discovered in a coat pocket in a jar. (Kids can even decorate the container.) Take your kids to a dollar or drug store to buy travel-size toiletries, tissues and other care items to take to shelters or give to homeless people.

 

3. Care for animals. While supervised by a parent, children can play with kittens at a local shelter or pet adoption agency. Older kids can offer to walk an elderly neighbor’s dog, especially during bad weather, or families can take their friendly pet to a nursing home to meet and cheer up the residents.

 

4. Host a baking party. Kids can invite their friends over to help bake cookies and other tasty treats. Afterward, they can set up a bake sale with proceeds benefiting a charity of their choosing or drop them off at their local police or fire station.

 

5. Remove trash from parks and beaches, or plant trees.  Families can also tend a garden together and donate the produce to local hunger-relief agencies.

6. Get a group of friends together to sing holiday songs at a senior home or deliver handmade cards.

 

7. Throw a charity birthday party. Instead of receiving gifts at their next birthday party, kids can give instead. Invite party guests to bring gently used or new toys to donate to shelters or church groups. 

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8. Bake cookies and give them to your local fire department/police station.

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9.  Make and deliver cards to a childrens hospital. 

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10. Participate in a local charity run/walk or bike ride. Most communities host several charity rides, walks and runs throughout the year, including breast-cancer walks in October, Thanksgiving Day “turkey trots,” the March of Dimes March for Babies, and the YWCA’s annual Race Against Racism. These fun, healthy events can be made even more meaningful if they raise money and awareness for a cause or disease that has affected your family or friends.