30 Kid-Friendly Service Ideas for November

November: A Month of Giving Back and Thankfulness

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, it is a natural time to begin talking to kids about being thankful for what they have and think about ways to give back to others in need within our community. Below are tips and ideas for your family to share kindness or support a service throughout each day of November. Each item on our list offers a great opportunity to talk our kids about important issues too – safety, poverty, hunger, environmental concerns, lonely elderly, homelessness and more. It’s a nice reminder for every one of us that life should be more about giving, not receiving.

Tips

1. Talk about what it means to be thankful and what it means in your own family. Here are some ways we talk about thankfulness during November.
2. Encourage them to think of things to add to your list together. This will give them ownership of the project and build their confidence and self-worth as they complete the tasks they thought of themselves.
3. Go beyond monetary donations. Giving a portion of an allowance or earning money to donate is a great way to teach children about sharing but it also is about the effort and thought put into the task too.
4. Talk about it after each activity. How did it make your child feel to give back? What did they learn through this activity?

Ideas to Get Your Kids Involved in a Month of Kindness & Giving

1. Thank a support staff member at school (bus drive, lunchroom monitor and cook/specialist etc)
2. Call a grandparent just because
3. Thank first responders with a thank you note or small gift
4. Gather food items to donate to Red’s Good Vibes, Gather, End 68Hours of Hunger or Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Exeter
5. Write a letter to a vet
6. Sort toys to donate
7. Donate animal toys, food or bedding to a local animal shelter
8. Tell someone they are doing a good job
9. Go through outdoor clothing that has been outgrown to donate to Seacoast Family Promise or Operation Blessing.
10. Sponsor a child through The NH CASA Project or send a donation.
11. Use your voice: draw or create a poster to advocate for a cause or a choice
12. Smile at everyone you see today
13. Send a letter to a friend
14. Perform an act of kindness to someone
15. Donate to Cross Roads House a local group supporting the homeless
16. Leave change for someone near a vending machine
17. Leave supplies at the laundry mat
18. Drop a treat off to a neighbor
19. Pay someone a compliment
20. Donate coloring books and crayons to a children’s hospital
21. Make a thank you gift for a teacher
22. Pay it forward – pay for a snack or coffee for someone
23. Help pick up trash in your neighborhood or at a local park
24. Donate to a charity of your choice
25. Give a toy to Seacoast Area Firefighters Toy Bank 
26. Collect small toys for Helping Seacoast Families for Christmas or Operation Christmas Child
27. Send a note to isolated elderly at a nursing home
28. Write a thank you note to a mail carrier or package delivery person
29. Create a care package for those who are homeless
30. Do yard work (rake leaves) for a neighbor

What are some ways you and your family engage in acts of kindness?