There are so many good deeds to do to help your community. Some take more effort in their planning and organizing while others are really pretty simple. Let’s start by looking at some simple ideas for getting involved in Good Deeds Day.
1. Send a Thank You note to your local health care professionals
Pick a healthcare facility in your community and write a thank you note to the healthcare professionals who work there. Now more than ever we need to remember to thank our heroes on the frontline who are risking themselves to put us first. Now share it! Post on your social media and encourage your friends and family to do the same or encourage them to find their own good deeds to do.
2. Start a chain of positivity notes! Just a few simple words can make someone’s day
These days we think about social media when we talk about something going viral but use this opportunity to create a viral chain of happy notes. Start by writing a bright note to your neighbors and putting it in their mailbox. Ask them in this note to do the same thing for another neighbor and to keep the flow of happiness going. #PASSITON
3. Helping elderly people in your community complete basic home tasks or yard work
There are so many good deeds to do when helping seniors. Cleaning, cooking, shopping, fixing things around the house, hanging pictures or shelves are just a few ideas. In addition to basic tasks that seniors might need inside their home, also consider yard work like mowing the lawn, planting some flowers, or trimming some branches. This is a pretty simple way to make a big impact. All you need to do is get connected with the seniors you will help, make sure you have the right supplies, and show up!
4. Teach seniors basic technology skills
Bring a group of seniors to a computer room at a community center, school or library and have a few “teachers” there to show them how to use computers and their smartphones to their benefit. Some ideas might be showing them how to use a video chat platform so they can stay in touch with their friends and family, pay their bills, or buy groceries online. This can be a good time to help with any other technology issues that might be puzzling them. Like this idea? Check out this Ultimate Guide to Teaching Teach to Seniors!
5. Bring together the younger generation with the older generation to do activities together
Bring youth in the community together with a group from the elderly community. You might reach out to clubs or a nursing home facility to make a connection to a group of seniors. Choose an activity they can do together. Have the young people brainstorm ideas. Some examples could be storytelling, making crafts, making no-bake cookies, drawing, coloring, or painting together.
6. Bring together the community for a lesson in tolerance
Decide which group in your community you think needs to be more accepted and their voices need to be lifted. This could be a minority group or those with special needs. Gather a group of people from that population and do some research on what topics they think would be important to talk about with the community at large. Together with them, create a group activity or lecture to increase awareness and tolerance towards this particular population. Then invite the community to come together to take part in the lecture or activity.
7. Make a playground more fun for local children to play
Find a local playground in a public area, school, or nursery that could use a new coat of paint and talk to whoever is in charge of the facility. Get some donations from local hardware stores and come together to give the playground a new life with some fresh, bright colors.
Now let’s take a look at some ideas of good deeds to do that will take a bit more effort up front but will great a huge impact on your community!
8. Create “Happy Kits” to support a vulnerable population
Learn about a group of vulnerable people in your community that you could put together a “Happy Kit” for to make them smile. This could be seniors, homeless, children in local hospitals, etc. “Happy Kits” could include food, hygiene products, fun books, small toys, coloring books and crayons and so much more. These are all products you can try to get donated from local stores, neighbors, friends, and family rather than buying them, and don’t forget to put everything in a reusable bag!
9. Create a book drive to bring books to underserved children
For this project, designate a few places that you will promote around town for people to bring books. Be sure to let them know who the audience is so the right books are donated. After the drive, sort the books and arrange for them to be delivered. You might even sign up to have a reading hour with the children where you have someone come read to them in a group or you have a group of people read to them one on one or in small groups.
10. Make a public area like a school, park, or community center more accessible to people with disabilities
First, you will need to get in touch with your local municipality or the head of an institute that isn’t accessible and offer to make their facility better for those with disabilities. You will need to get renovation professionals on board as well as someone with knowledge about accessibility regulations. This can be someone from the municipality or a local architect. Plan with them what needs to happen – adding ramps, widening doors, etc. When you’re done, spread the word so people with disabilities are aware of the new improvements. To learn more about why accessibility is so important, here is a great article from Habitat for Humanity.
11. Build an urban garden in your neighborhood
To make sure this project is a success you will need to be sure an organization or group of individuals will take responsibility for maintaining the garden year-round. Next, you will need to round up supplies and seeds to plant. You can purchase these or talk to your local stories about providing you with a donation. Pick a nice day, come together and get to planting! Tip: Follow these steps to plan a successful urban garden.
12. Organize a blood donation drive and an organ donation sign-up booth
This might sound like someone beyond your reach, but if you contact your local Red Cross they can help you set up a drive. You will need to arrange a suitable place for the drive such as a community center or a public square. A little research will be needed to understand what necessities are needed for the drive to be successful. A few things you will need are tables, chairs, trash cans, drinks, and refreshments. Many people have done this before so it won’t be hard to gather the information with a little internet research and Red Cross has put together this information to make it simple. Make sure to do a good job of advertising the event to the community so you have a good turnout!
Have questions about an idea you have for a good deed to do on Goods Deeds Day? We’d be happy to chat! Reach out to us at info@good-deeds-day.org
