Maryland Associationof Student Councils
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Embrace the spirit of spring by engaging in service projects that foster growth, renewal, and connection within your community. Whether it’s cleaning up litter, combating food insecurity, or nurturing green spaces, each act of service contributes to a brighter, more vibrant community. Join us in making a positive impact this season by getting involved in meaningful service projects. Together, let’s cultivate a community that thrives and blossoms with compassion and generosity!
Here are three impactful ways YOU can spring into action and serve your community this March:
1. Community Cleanup Day: Take advantage of the fresh start that spring brings by organizing a Community Cleanup Day. Gather volunteers to pick up litter and beautify public spaces such as parks, beaches, and neighborhoods. Partner with local authorities, businesses, and community groups to maximize participation and impact. Together, let’s create a cleaner, greener environment for all to enjoy.
2. Food Drive for Spring Harvest: As we welcome the arrival of spring, let’s ensure that no one in our community goes hungry. Organize a food drive to collect non-perishable items for local food banks and pantries. Encourage individuals, schools, and businesses to donate canned goods, pasta, rice, and other essential items. Your efforts will provide much-needed support to individuals and families facing food insecurity during this transitional season.
3. Spring Garden Project: Cultivate a sense of growth and give back to the environment by organizing a Spring Garden Project in your community. Partner with schools, community centers, or local gardening groups to establish community gardens or revitalize existing green spaces. Invite volunteers of all ages to participate in planting, watering, and tending to the garden beds. Not only will this project beautify the community, but it will also promote sustainability, healthy living, and community engagement.
February is the month of love, and what better way to celebrate than by turning that love into meaningful action? Join MASC in spreading warmth, kindness, and compassion throughout your community. Share the love, make a positive impact, and let this February be a month of love in action! Here are three heartwarming ways YOU can spread love in action this February.
1) Valentine’s for All: Extend the love beyond romantic relationships by creating Valentine’s Day cards for various groups within your community. Consider distributing cards to seniors in nursing homes, patients in hospitals, or individuals experiencing homelessness. Show someone you care and brighten their day with uplifting messages in handmade cards.
2) Caring for Our Furry Friends: Show love to our four-legged companions by partnering with local animal shelters. Organize a pet food and supplies drive to support these shelters in caring for animals in need. Consider hosting an adoption event or volunteering your time to assist with the daily operations of the shelter. Your efforts can make a significant difference in the lives of animals waiting for forever homes.
3) Community Unity Mural: Foster a sense of unity and creativity within your community by organizing a mural painting project. Collaborate with local artists, schools, and community members to create a vibrant mural that reflects the diversity and spirit of your community. This visually appealing project not only beautifies public spaces but also fosters a sense of pride and connection among residents.
January is the perfect time to set the tone for the year ahead with acts of kindness and service. Start the year with a bang by making a positive impact on those around you. Engage in acts of kindness, big or small, and let the spirit of service define the beginning of 2024. Together, let’s create a year filled with compassion, connection, and community growth.
Here are three ways you can spread kindness and make a difference this January:
1) Winter Warmth Drive: As the winter chill sets in, many individuals in our community may struggle to stay warm. Organize a Winter Warmth Drive to collect blankets, coats, gloves, and other winter essentials. Partner with local shelters or organizations to distribute these items to those in need. Your efforts can help make this season more bearable for those facing the harsh cold.
2) Random Acts of Kindness Challenge: Launch a Random Acts of Kindness Challenge within your school or community. Encourage everyone to perform small acts of kindness throughout the month, such as leaving uplifting notes, helping with chores, or simply offering a friendly smile. Create a sense of positivity and community connection as individuals share their acts of kindness on social media using a designated hashtag.
3) New Year, New Skills: Start the year by sharing knowledge and skills with others in your community. Consider organizing workshops or tutoring sessions to help students, neighbors, or community members acquire new skills or enhance existing ones. Whether it’s academic support, career guidance, or teaching a new hobby, your expertise can empower others to start the year on a positive note.
As the temperatures start to drop and the season begins to turn, keeping your community connected is of utmost importance! Pumpkin spice lattes, Bath and Body Works candles, and college football all give off the infectiously warm energy of autumn. But, tight-knit communities are warmer than any cozy cashmere sweater. Check out our recommendations on how YOU can make your community more connected with service this fall.
1.) Hosting a Fall Festival: Spreading seasonal cheer throughout this time of year can uplift the hearts and spirits of many. One way to practice your event planning skills as well as connect with your community is to help host a fall festival! Your student council can partner with groups within your school or community to create an amazing event. Consider activities like hayrides, corn mazes, crafts, face painting, and more. Giving companies or organizations in your community a platform to advertise the services they offer can aid in making a closer community. Using your local markets’ pumpkins for a pumpkin patch or a local cafe’s coffees and ciders can give them the opportunities to grow their businesses.
Step By Step: Planning a Fall Festival
How to Work with Other Groups
2.) Coat + Clothing Drives: A simple yet very effective project to execute is a coat and clothing drive for the colder months. Donations are put to good use in the community by providing for those who are less fortunate. Your student council can partner with local organizations to ensure that the drive goes smoothly. As you collect items, make sure that they’re clean, warm, and useful for those in need.
Organization Finder
Clothing Drive Guide
3.) Senior Citizen Volunteering:. As the holiday season slowly approaches, some senior citizens might feel alone or isolated without their families. They are an important yet overlooked part of our communities, and volunteering with them through your student council or other school clubs can make them feel valued and appreciated. Helping out at your local senior home is a great start, you could help plan bingo fundraisers or decades nights to make them feel more connected to their community!
Senior Citizen Volunteer Tips
Step by Step: Planning a Bingo Night
Conversation Starters for Senior Citizens
Local heroes are the backbone of our communities, serving and safeguarding the well-being of all. These include healthcare professionals, social workers, law enforcement officers, and members of the armed forces, to name a few. Their tireless efforts, often amidst challenging circumstances, make it imperative that we express our gratitude for their service.
Here are three impactful ways YOU can demonstrate your support for our local heroes:
1 – Donate Essential Supplies – Contribute to the cause by donating essential supplies, such as pre-packaged snacks, personal care items, and more, to your chosen organization. Consider gathering much-needed items like hand sanitizers, masks, and gloves for healthcare facilities. Remember to contact your selected recipient beforehand to ensure they can accept these items.
2 – Assemble Heartfelt Care Packages – In addition to individual donations, you can craft thoughtful care packages to be delivered to specific organizations. These packages may include items like lip balms, lotions, hand sanitizers, an assortment of treats, disposable masks, hair ties, and protein bars.
3 – Express Gratitude – A simple act of kindness can brighten someone’s day. Offer a warm smile, speak kind words, and express your heartfelt appreciation to our local heroes. To go the extra mile, consider creating thank-you cards to convey your gratitude.
These service projects can be undertaken individually or collaboratively within your school’s or county’s student government association. Donations can be directed to nearby fire stations, law enforcement offices, hospitals, healthcare facilities, or the local Red Cross chapter. Let this month be a testament to our deep appreciation for those who tirelessly contribute to making our communities better—our local heroes!
Here are three ways you can make waves in your community through service:
1. Host a book drive: Having access to books is crucial for young people to thrive, and it’s always great to exercise your mind while school is out! A wonderful service project your SGA can execute is hosting a used-book drive for a local school, library, or daycare. Ensure books are age-appropriate and usable. Facilities will GREATLY appreciate your donations, and you can feel good knowing you gave an old book some new life! Click on this link to locate libraries near you: https://libraryfinder.org/
2. Fill some backpacks with love: For families who cannot afford new school supplies, back-to-school shopping can be a burden. Lend a helping hand by organizing or contributing to a backpack drive in your area. Many schools or local groups already organize similar drives, so reach out and see how your SGA can help collect supplies/funds! Below are a few Maryland/DC-based organizations that host supply drives to look into:
https://www.voachesapeake.org/backpack
https://nccf-cares.org/back-to-school-backpack-drive/
https://www.mdot.maryland.gov/tso/pages/Index.aspx?PageId=174
3. Beautify Your School’s Campus: A free and fun way to help students ease their way back into the swing of school this August is to organize a campus beautification project. Gather volunteers to pick up trash or clean up weeds/debris around your school so it is ready to go when the first day rolls around! Consider other ways to help like contacting the administration to paint murals, helping teachers move/set up classrooms, or creating encouraging school-pride banners to hang up. One study even found that campus beautification projects had positively impacted student behavior and academic performance!
Summer is a great time to explore your interests and surroundings through service projects! In July, let’s go beyond celebrating independence and spend time understanding our history and engaging with our community. Get ready to expand your knowledge and beat the heat with service this month!
Here are three ways YOU can give back and engage in service this July:
1.) Learn about our history: Celebrating our country’s independence this 4th of July also involves being mindful of the history of our nation. Educating yourself on the positive and negative aspects of our independence and the present-day impacts of America’s history can make Independence Day even more valuable and impactful. Plus, these topics can make for great, respectful discussions to learn more about one another’s views! Check out the articles below:
Smithsonian: Being Antiraicst
PBS: Reflecting on the Past
NPR: More Than Independence
Forward-thinking: July 4th
2.) Remember to give what you can: A great mindset to have all year is to give what you can. In the summer, many of us may have more time to act on this. When even small opportunities to help out locally come up, approach them with an open mind – your small donation of time or money is valuable not only to the organization/community you impact but also to building memorable experiences for yourself. Getting involved with your school or county SGA is also a great way to learn about new service opportunities. Another example is the organization Meals on Wheels, which accepts both donations and teen volunteers. (Meals On Wheels Website)
3.) Make Memories: Having fun experiences and staying safe this month and during the summer can easily impact your community and yourself! Always making an effort to put a smile on somebody’s face can easily make your day even brighter. National parks are home to many of the nation’s most beloved monuments, historic sites, hallowed grounds, and iconic landscapes. Celebrate Independence Day by finding a park, joining an event, reflecting on history, or enjoying the great outdoors! In addition, The Red Cross has a great guide for Fourth of July safety, and there are other articles that can educate you on staying safe as you have fun this summer: Red Cross Safety Guide.
Use this month to get more involved in your community and help turn it into a better place!
Summer is one of the most fun times of the year! Getting to go out and have fun with your friends in all the hang-out spots you couldn’t access during earlier seasons because of the weather or school. However, this isn’t all that summer has to be about. By going out and getting involved in service, you can help make someone else’s summer as positive of an experience as yours, and you might meet some inspiring people along the way.
Here are three ways YOU can service your community this summer:
1) Raising Awareness through Fundraising: Giving back to your community this summer can come in the form of raising money for various diseases that affect people daily. Fundraising doesn’t always have to be selling pizza or popcorn through a third-party source. You can get involved with programs like Alex’s Lemonade Stand to help raise money to help kids fight cancer. And if you want to organize your own fundraiser, you can participate in events like, “The longest day” from the Alzheimer’s Association, which allows you to choose your own form of fundraising on the selected day.
2) Take action in your community: Get out and get active! Many organizations have outdoor events that you and people in your community can take part in. Events like United Way Day of Action and the Great American Cleanup 2023 are great ways to get out and help unify and beautify your community.
3) Have fun!: There are many events you can take part in that allow you to have fun this summer while still being involved in service. You can organize fun events in your area to bring your community together for a good time or take part in events like the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson.
To sum it all up, you and/or your school/regional SGA can organize events to help create the best summer ever while simultaneously giving back to your community. Get out, take action, and most importantly, have fun!