Sometimes it is just as important to know what not to do as what to do. Below we have highlighted some projects for comparison.

Is age appropriate...

• Participating in an environmentally conscious project, like a beach clean up.
• Making placemats for a soup kitchen or homeless shelter.
• Read-a-thon projects, where students read to younger kids.
• Initiating a litter patrol at school during lunch or recess.
• Collecting used books for a shelter for homeless children.
• Performing plays and skits depicting community problems and their solutions.
• Visiting senior citizens who live in a nearby home.

Is not age appropriate...

• Test water samples from a local lake or river and document the findings for the community.
• Volunteering in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter.
• Organizing a phonics fair to help improve reading skills.
• Starting a recycling program for the entire school.
• Writing letters to corporations asking for donations for a shelter for homeless children.
• Holding a youth summit to dialogue about problems in the community and possible solutions.
• Collecting and writing a personal or community oral history by interviewing senior citizens.

5 of 9