Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time for families to connect and spend some time expressing gratitude for all they’ve been given and for one another. A time for charity opportunities, if you will. It can also be a wonderful opportunity for parents to intentionally instill gratitude through home projects, like a Gratitude Tree, or through community service projects outside of the home.
If you are looking for ways to serve your community as a family, check out some of these
20 Charity Opportunities for Families
- Serve Thanksgiving Dinner to the homeless.
- Participate in a 5K Turkey Trot Fundraiser.
- Assemble canned goods for your local food bank. You can find one here.
- Distribute packets of essentials to local homeless on street corners. Check out this great link from How Does She. Your little ones can help you pack them!
- Bring toys and games to your local children’s hospital.
- Visit an assisted living community.
- Send care packages to veterans and their families.
- Assemble a thanksgiving meal kit for a family in need (via The Birthday Project).
- Help deliver meals to seniors and disabled members of your community.
- Host a member of the military at your own family Thanksgiving.
- Invite a refugee or refugee family to join you for Thanksgiving.
- Make crafts with children’s at your local children’s hospital.
- Bring holiday treats to a local Fire Station or Police Station to thank them for their service.
- Assemble Fall Harvest Boxes (via Pennies of Time).
- Sponsor a needy family through an organization like Family to Family.
- Serve at the Salvation Army.
- Tie coats and scarves to trees in your local park.
- Send cards and books to your local jail.
- Go through your old items and donate them to the Goodwill.
- Participate in a trash clean up or other wildlife conservation project nearby.
Any other ideas? What types of community service projects have you done with your family?