Saturday, September 8, 2012

71 Ways to Serve Someone Today

All around there are opportunities to serve—in your family, among friends, in your community, and with an organization you trust. Here are a few ideas to get you started. Leave your ideas in a comment below.
  1. Deliver meals to the elderly through Meals on Wheels or similar programs
  2. Volunteer at a local soup kitchen
  3. Rake leaves for a neighbor
  4. Clean, shelve or organize books at the public library
  5. Pick up litter along the streets
  6. Teach a second language to an interested learner
  7. Bake cookies for a friend
  8. Share a scripture with someone who's hurting
  9. Give blood through American Red Cross
  10. Plant a tree in the city park
  11. Invite an unemployed friend to a job fair or career workshop
  12. Wash the windows of your dad's car
  13. Post an inspirational thought on Facebook
  14. Teach a merit badge class to Boy Scouts
  15. Donate food to a local food bank
  16. Mow your neighbor's lawn
  17. Pray for someone...and then do what the Spirit tells you to do for that person
  18. Assemble hygiene, newborn or school kits using LDS Humanitarian Center guidelines. While there, check out a veritable smorgasbord of projects you and your family can become involved in today
  19. Visit lonely patients at a nursing home. Share with them, sing with them, laugh with them.
  20. Read with a child
  21. Say "I love you" and really mean it
  22. Do the laundry without being asked
  23. Talk with your mayor or city administrator about current needs in your community. Then go and do
  24. Run a 5k for charity
  25. Help someone move in or out of a new home
  26. Write a poem, paint a picture or sing a song to brighten someone's day
  27. Clean up in the community after a tornado, flood or other natural disaster
  28. People need to talk. Listen to them
  29. Sweep sidewalks or shovel snow
  30. Smile and say "hello" to stranger in the grocery store
  31. Distribute flyers for upcoming community events or fundraisers
  32. Give a handicapped friend a ride to church
  33. Refer a struggling friend to online addiction recovery resources
  34. Send a letter to a friend, serviceman, college student, foreign exchange student, or missionary (please and thank you)
  35. Participate in community, state, national or worldwide days of service
  36. Join the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at your child's school
  37. Organize files at an educational institution
  38. Familiarize yourself with political candidates and issues and teach your friends what you learn
  39. Walk your neighbor's dog
  40. Weed your family's garden or a neighborhood garden
  41. Make breakfast in bed for a family member or friend
  42. Sincerely compliment somebody on a job well done
  43. Volunteer as an election judge in your municipality
  44. Keep a journal for future generations to read
  45. As the new year rolls around, buy or make a beautiful calendar for a friend
  46. Share a meaningful talk, sermon or book with a friend
  47. Apologize to someone you've offended
  48. Invite a neighbor to dinner
  49. Sing carols at Christmastime
  50. Give an unexpected, anonymous gift to a neighbor
  51. Take five minutes to call a lonely friend
  52. Improve a nature trail in your area
  53. Play a board game with your brother or sister
  54. Share fruits and vegetables from your garden with a neighbor
  55. Take care of a friend's pets while he or she is on vacation
  56. Find an organization or cause in your area to which you feel comfortable lending support
  57. Treat the lonely and downtrodden the way you would like to be treated—with care and dignity
  58. Be the kind of person others can rely on in their times of need
  59. Prepare a meal for an expecting mother or a tired patient
  60. Teach somebody a skill you've learned
  61. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
  62. Rescue an animal from the pound
  63. Be kind to everyone you meet today—even your enemies
  64. Thank a solider for his military service
  65. Welcome a new friend into the neighborhood with a loaf of freshly baked bread
  66. Have a yard sale. Give proceeds to charity
  67. Purchase a book you love for your public library
  68. Host a foreign exchange student or foster child
  69. Donate items to Goodwill, Deseret Industries, Salvation Army and other similar organizations
  70. Volunteer at your child's school
  71. Learn from the master of selfless service, Jesus Christ. Study His life. Try to do what He would do and live as He would live. A good place to start is this website

2 comments:

  1. This is a GREAT list - thanks!! I'm going to share it with the teenagers in my class. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Glad you found it helpful, Stephanie. Thanks for your nice comment. I love the quote from President Uchtdorf.

    ReplyDelete