Ideas for Celebrating National Volunteer Month

Volunteers with a shared purpose can make a significant impact on our world and our local neighborhoods. April is National Volunteer Month. Here are some helpful ideas to celebrate through service and appreciation.

Ideas for Groups

Serving as a group is both rewarding and meaningful. Not to mention productive, as you can accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Here are a few terrific group projects:

• Serve at a Ronald McDonald House to show love and support for the family guests.
• Serve a meal at a local homeless shelter.
• Plan a company service event. Try one of these 50 volunteering tips and ideas to get started.
• Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity to build homes.
• Collect supplies for a food, clothing or book drive.
• Participate in a fundraising event such as 5k run.

Ideas for High School and College Students

Volunteering is an excellent team building event for any high school or college group and teaches the importance of serving others. Try some of these ideas:

• Plan a beautification project or work in a community garden.
• Provide childcare for a parent's night out.
• Visit the elderly who are homebound or in a nursing home.
• Volunteer at a local animal shelter.

Ideas for Schools

Schools are a community institution. It's only natural that many schools want to serve in the community and help teach students lessons about service. Get your school involved with these ideas:

• Fill backpacks with school supplies and give them to less privileged schools in the city. You can even collect school supplies with a sign up.
• To brighten someone's day, write encouraging notes or draw pictures and send them to a nearby senior center.
• Host a movie night on the school grounds. Sell tickets and concessions to support a local nonprofit.
• Organize a bake sale and donate the proceeds to a good cause. With Cookies for Kids' Cancer, you can raise money for pediatric cancer research.

Volunteer Appreciation Celebrations

Celebrate those who serve others and make a difference in your organization with some of our favorite ideas:

• Plan a volunteer appreciation meal.
• Organize a volunteer appreciation event and give gifts to volunteers.
• Take pictures of a group of volunteers or create a collage that you can promote on social media to highlight the work of these groups and individuals.

Need more ideas? Check out these 50 National Volunteer Week Ideas.