Helping the Hungry and/or Homeless:

  1. Help cook and/or serve a meal at homeless shelter.
  2. During National Nutrition month in March, organize a nutrition awareness campaign.
  3. Organize a food scavenger hunt to collect food for the needy.
  4. Alter and repair clothes for the needy, elderly and homeless.
  5. Gather clothing from your neighbor and donate it to a local shelter.
  6. Make “I Care” kits with combs, toothbrushes, shampoo, etc. for homeless people.
  7. Bake bread on National Bread Day in November and deliver to the hungry, homeless or just your neighbors.
  8. Help with repairs at a local homeless shelter.
  9. Donate art supplies to kids in a homeless shelter.
  10. Make a care package with mittens, socks, T-shirts, etc. for a child at a homeless shelter.
  11. Collect grocery coupons to give a local food bank.
  12. If your community doesn’t have a food bank, work with local officials to start one.
  13. Clip coupons and give them at your local food pantry or homeless shelter.
  14. Pack and hand out food at a food bank.
  15. Organize a neighborhood group to plant, tend and harvest a vegetable garden.
  16. Donate the produce to a food bank.
  17. Sponsor a food drive at your school or parent’s workplace or business.
  18. Prepare a home-cooked meal for the residents of a nearby homeless shelter.
  19. Bake a batch of cookies and deliver them to a soup kitchen or homeless shelter.
  20. Raid your closet and attic to find toys and clothes to donate to a homeless shelter.
  21. Assist with sorting and organizing items donated to a homeless shelter.
  22. Food drive – set up collection bins in stores, banks, movie theaters, and schools.
  23. Start a program to help poor people build their own houses.
  24. Assist in a shelter day-care room, taking care of children while parents look for jobs.
  25. Help raise money for Reading Is Fundamental Open Book Program – Have a Read-a-Thon or Book Auction.
  26. Take homeless children on outings.
  27. Make first aid kits for homeless shelters.
  28. Contact a homeless shelter in your community and see if they already have a reading center and need help to keep the project going.
  29. Set up a Saturday Reading Hour where you visit a homeless shelter once a month, bringing books to share and leave behind.
  30. Collect items to deliver to homeless shelters (blankets, sheets, towels, toys, books, disposable diapers.)
  31. Become a Big Buddy for one or more of the children at the homeless shelter.
  32. Find out about low-cost housing in your area for the homeless people.
  33. Contact job training and placement centers in your community.