Annual Service Day Project
 

Just looking for ideas that some of you may do annually for your organizations. I am trying to come up with something that ALL our collegians can do (not location specific), as an "Annual Service Day Project". Thanks for the suggestions :) .

Here are some service day ideas:
 

Take trash bags to a local park, playground, or picnic area. Many cities have an annual citywide cleanup. Some universities have campus cleanups. If not, you can work with city or university officials to start one.

Contact local schools, community centers, nursing homes, or hospitals to see if you can plant some perennials to create a bright spot in people’s lives.

Coordinate a yearly used-shoe collection in the community. Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program recycles used athletic shoes of any brand and turns them into athletic surfaces. http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/nikebiz.jhtml?page=27
Or find a community program such as Shoes for Austin that gives new athletic shoes and socks to youth and adults. http://www.shoesforaustin.org

Plant trees for Arbor Day or to commemorate another event or meaningful day for your organization, community, or campus. www.arborday.org

Annually in September, National Public Lands Day provides a wealth of opportunities around the nation for one-day volunteerism, from cleaning up waterways and restoring habitat to painting park benches and planting sea grass. Find out what you can do by visiting www.npld.com

The Ocean Conservancy hosts an annual Coastal Cleanup and many states host their own. Type “coastal cleanup” into Google.

Find out if KABOOM has scheduled a playground building or revitalization project in your area by visiting www.kaboom.org If not contact your local youth-support organization, civic leaders, or Home Depot (KABOOM’s official partner) to tell them about the KABOOM program.

If you are looking for an All-Greek project, maybe you want to have different "themes" all going on at the same time. Sisters/Brothers sign up for those projects that interest them.

Example: One "elderly" where some go to nursing homes; one "education" such as an after-shool event; one on "the hungry" who volunteer at the local soup kitchen; one on "the homeless" and volunteer with Habitat for Humanity; one health care and work with the American Red Cross Blood Drive'; one environmental and do a trash pick-up; one community and fix up a playground, abandoned lot, abandoned cemetary.

This way there is something for everyone and you won't oversaturate one organization with volunteers they don't need.

Project 2005 - Service in Burnt Orange
 

Example of a yearly service project at UT:
http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/vslc/project.php

The Project is UT's Day of Service event designed by students to increase campus pride in community service with the goal of establishing a sense of a service tradition associated with being part of the UT community.

Partnering with Keep Austin Beautiful since 1999, the Projects have resulted in over 9,000 student volunteers working in four different neighborhoods in Austin for over 36,000 hours. In the first five years of the event, students have painted or landscaped over 70 local homes, five schools, two community centers, a public housing complex, among other sites.

http://www.keepaustinbeautiful.org/



The Project has become one of the largest one-day student and community run service events in the nation. The event has brought together over 2,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community volunteers annually in a spirit of service to assist a neighborhood in need. And, in response to the work that the annual projects have accomplished, The Project has received numerous awards for community service.

77th Texas State Legislature Resolution H.R. 249 Recognizing UT for Project 2001
2001 Keep Austin Beautiful Award for Community Improvement
2000 Keep America Beautiful National Award for Community Improvement
2000 Keep Austin Beautiful Award for Community Improvement
1999 Keep Austin Beautiful Award for Community Improvement

another example of an annual service project in Austin
 

Some takeaways: Plan your own annual service event during National Volunteer Week, your efforts will likely get more recognition. Partner with a local effort such as in the example below (i.e. Keep Austin Beautiful, Austin Park Foundation, etc.)


United to Serve is a service event for The University of Texas System. All 15 institutions will participate in a service activity in their respective communities during National Volunteer Week. The purpose of United to Serve is
to unite all system institutions to provide a direct service to our communities and the state of Texas.

The University of Texas at Austin will kick off United to Serve activities on Saturday April 23, 2005, from 8am to 12pm. Students, faculty, administrators, and staff will come together at 8:00am at International Shores Park (2200 South Lakeshore Boulevard). After a breakfast and short ceremony honoring
volunteerism at UT, volunteers will disperse to parks around town for creek cleaning, trash pickup, trail building, and more.

United to Serve 2005 is a joint project with the Austin Parks Foundation's It's My Park! Day. It will be a great way for UT students and staff to interact with the Austin community.


Here is a link for more information:
http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/studen...unitedtoserve/