Service Projects Ideas & Resources
The Diocese of Phoenix “Gift From on High” Confirmation & First Communion Policy requires that sacramental preparation includes a service component:
“Service is encouraged to be part of the preparation experience as it is a visible sign of lifelong faith. Candidates should serve in ways meaningful to them that enable them to use their talents and abilities. Parents are to guide and nurture their candidate into a vision of lifelong service following the example of Christ.”
This requirement has been a challenge for parishes to meet with their younger grades. Below are some ideas assembled by Catechetical Leaders throughout the Diocese and the Office of Peace and Justice. If you need help or recommendations please feel free to contact us at www.familycatechesisphx.org Some important principles. Make sure service projects:
Are Age Appropriate
Follow Safe Environment Policies
Deepen a child’s understanding of Christian Service
Home-Based Projects:
Letter Writing: With the help of their parents and guidance of their catechists students can write letters, notes or make cards for: your parishes homebound, expectant mothers at Maggie’s Place, new moms at Aid to Women Center, Life Choices or First Way.
Charity Drives: Children can raise awareness and provide essential goods by collecting socks, blankets, diapers etc for local charities.
Parish Based Projects:
Parish Clean-up: Children can clean up after Mass or on assigned days.
Parish renovation: Need a room painted, cleaned-up, moved. Ask your children and their parents for help.
Parish Fiestas: Plug families into volunteering for Parish Festivals and large events.
Class Projects: Does the class want to gift the Church with something? They can host a car wash, bake sale, rummage sale etc.
Projects based on Social Justice Theme:
Human Dignity:
Children can assist a local Crisis Pregnancy Center by raising funds, collecting diapers, organizing supply closets, cleaning up ect.
Communio & Common Good:
Children can sponsor a drive to raise money for books and other supplies to benefit our local missions.
Option for Poor and Vulnerable:
Children can help organize donation closets at SVdP or local shelters and soup kitchens like Andre House, or Paz de Cristo.
Children can create ways of addressing poverty in their community by finding a local agency they want to help support. Global Solidarity
Children can sell Fair Trade Coffee/Tea and other items, or sponsor an awareness project sending Fair Trade catalogs to family members. Stewardship of Creation
Children can adopt a local park and clean it. Or donate plants and materials for farming to CRS.
Catholic Charities Community Services Suggested Projects
Community Information and Referral:
Contacts: Phoenix Community Information and Referral
602-997-6105, ext. 3304
East Valley Community Information and Referral
480-964-8771
West Valley Community Information and Referral
623-875-0519, ext 106
Phoenix Transitional Housing Refugee Resettlement
602-997-6105, ext 3345
East Valley Transitional Housing Pathways (for victims of Domestic Violence)
480-821-1024
West Valley Transitional Housing Homeless
623-875-0519, ext 102
Phoenix Foster Care
602-943-3843
East Valley Foster Care
480-964-8771
Arizona Right to Life Pro-Life Rally (www.azliferally.com)
Assist with Rally Set-Up
Catholic Pregnancy Resource Centers:
Students can help organize the storage rooms, write letters to new mothers, raise funds, supplies (diapers, clothes etc) or awareness for one of our three local Catholic Pregnancy Centers.
Aid to Women Center, Tempe (http://aidtowomencenter.org/
1st Way, Central Phoenix http://www.1stway.net/
Life Choices, West Valley, , http://www.lcwcaz.org/
Maggie’s Place
Maggie’s Place is a house of hospitality for expectant women who wish to achieve their goals in a dignified and welcoming atmosphere. Following Catholic social teaching, we recognize that we are responsible to and for one another. We challenge one another to strive toward personal growth, to welcome the gifts of every person that enters our door, and to promote positive social change. In this way, we celebrate and provide for the next generation.”
St Vincent de Paul Society (602-261-6870)
Provide literacy and learning opportunities to children who eat in the Family Dining Room. Duties include following a prepared lesson plan, reading with the children, leading them in arts and crafts projects and creative play.
Hearts & Hands Day (lzschokke@svdp-phx-az.org)
Hearts and Hands day is open to families with children of all ages. Service Projects may include sorting donated items, working in our kitchen or store, assembling mailings, or putting together hygiene packs for the homeless.
St. Joseph the Worker (https://www.sjwjobs.org/get-involved/volunteer/)
St. Joseph the Worker’s (SJW) sole mission has been to assist economically deprived individuals become self-sufficient with the reassurance, tools, and support needed to secure quality employment. SJW teaches improved job readiness by focusing on timeliness, attitude, appearance, responsibility, and job search techniques.
Shoebox Ministry (480-905-1610 or info@shoeboxministry.org)
Put Together Kits at Home — Assembling kits is a great family activity you can do at home. We are always accepting mending kits, vanity kits, magazines and shoe boxes. Make a Delivery — Not all agencies and shelters are able to come to our office. See for yourself what a difference having a few personal grooming items makes to a homeless individual or family.
Tempe Community Action (https://tempeaction.org/support-our-work/volunteer/)
Help frail elderly and the disabled in our community by delivering or packing a meal - you can create your own schedule! TCAA delivers more than 200 meals per day (Monday-Friday) out of the North Tempe Community Center to Tempe and South Scottsdale residents. Meal packing volunteers are especially needed on Friday mornings. This is a fun and rewarding experience for families TCAA reimburses for mileage and you use your own vehicle.
Association of Arizona Food Banks
Food banks are appealing to faith-based groups, service clubs, Boy Scout or Girl Scout troops and others willing to commit a few hours of doing a valuable community service and helping “bring in the backyard citrus harvest” this season. “Frankly, any group that can come together for a few hours on a weekend or even during the week can be connected to property owners who cannot pick their own fruit,” said Ginny Hildebrand, Executive Director of the Association of Arizona Food Banks. “We are making our toll-free number available for those wanting to volunteer to pick or donate their fruit,” said Hildebrand. People can call the toll-free number Monday through Friday between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm.Staff will be available on those days and hours to take their information and then match willing volunteer groups with one or more property owners who need fruit picked. Food banks encourage people to pick and donate their own fruit, if possible. Donation sites are available at each of the food banks, as well as locations in Sun City, Scottsdale and North Phoenix. To get more information, volunteer or to donate, please call 1-800-445-1914.
Empty Bowls (www.emptybowls.net, imagineren@yahoo.com)
The basic idea for Empty Bowls is simple. Participants create ceramic bowls, then serve a simple meal of soup and bread. Guests choose a bowl to use that day and to keep as a reminder that there are always Empty Bowls in the world. In exchange for a meal and the bowl, the guest gives a suggested minimum donation of ten dollars. The meal sponsors and /or guests choose a hunger-fighting organization to receive the money collected. Any organization fighting hunger qualifies. Many groups choose to donate to organizations within their own community and others choose to give their donations to national or international hunger relief.
WHEAT (World Hunger Education, Advocacy and Training Organization) 602-955-5076
Join hundreds of thousands of people worldwide as we walk together over a 24-hour period in each of the planet’s time zones, to deliver a message: child hunger has no place in this world and citizens across the globe can put an end to it. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and local communities are teaming up with an array of celebrities, dignitaries, employees, NGO partners, family, friends and people affected by hunger themselves, to “Fight Hunger: Walk the World”. WHEAT, is hosting this event in the downtown Phoenix area. Funds raised through Walk the World will go to WFP’s Global School Feeding Program and WHEAT for its education & advocacy efforts to end poverty and hunger.
Church World Services CROP Walk 1-888-CWS-CROP (1-888-297-2767)
Neighbors walking together to take a stand against hunger in our world. Together we raise awareness and funds for international relief and development, as well as local hunger-fighting. Resources for organizing a walk can be found at: http://www.churchworldservice.org/CROP/resources.html
StandUp For Kids 602-770-5437 www.standupforkids.org
Individuals or a group who can prepare a meal once a week or once a month at our Outreach Center. Also individuals or a group who will provide 20-30 meals once a month. Meals should be foodstuffs that kids can eat on the street. (Small Serving Sizes, a Moist Towelette, Napkin & Plastic Ware Packet, One Small (pop top) Beenie Weenie / Spaghetti etc., Two Juices (small carton w/straw), One Granola Bar, One Small (pop top) Pudding/Fruit Cup, One Small Box of Raisins, One Chocolate Candy Bar, One Package of Chips.)
HomeBase Youth Services (602) 651-1804 or email volunteer@hbys.org
The vision of HomeBase is "No kid sleeps on the streets." HomeBase sends a very clear message to at risk and homeless youth: You are welcome, you are valued and you are worthy of respect. HomeBase offers group projects and has opportunities available for team-building and service learning. Corporate teams, youth groups, and other service groups are welcome to schedule a fun and rewarding project.
Prevent Blindness America – Arizona Division 602-252-524
You can do this at home! Great activity for a group of kids (or anyone). The Arizona Division of Prevent Blindness America screens more than 75,000 kids a year for potential vision problems. We need disposable occluders to cover the kids eyes with during screening. I will provide you with our "fish" pattern. Your job would be to cut them out, and color them if you'd like. You can do as many as you'd like, as often as you'd like. If you are local I can supply you with as many copies as you need, and you can just bring them by when finished. As these are used for one child only, this is an ongoing project.
Operation Homefront njc.homefront@yahoo.com
Show your appreciation for our troops, help their families. Volunteer to support families who have family members deployed overseas.
Special Olympics (BeAVolunteer@soaz.org or call 1-800-289-IWIN)
Special Olympics Arizona depends on and succeeds due to the time, energy, dedication and commitment of volunteers throughout the state. SOAZ Volunteers help to provide year-round sports training, athletic competition, and fundraising events for our athletes with intellectual disabilities. Volunteering for Special Olympics Arizona can create a lifetime of friendships and rewards of immeasurable value.
House of Refuge (East) 480-988-9395
House of Refuge East a faith-based, non-profit organization, which provides transitional housing and supportive services in Arizona to homeless individuals, families and victims of domestic violence. Our purpose is to empower participants to experience healing and become self-sufficient. Volunteer opportunities at House of Refuge are many and varied. Because every individual, group and organization has their own talents and personalities, the HRE staff work hard at matching individual volunteer opportunities to specific needs.
American Cancer Society – Relay for Life www.relayforlife.org
Relay For Life is a life changing event that brings together more than 3.5 million people to...Celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer... Remember loved ones lost to the disease...Fight Back against a disease that takes too much.
Heifer International http://www.readtofeed.org/
Maira Alejandra de la Cruz Reyes, from Penon Blanco in northern Mexico, cuddles up with her sheep because it is her love, her security. When her sheep nestles down into her lap, she brushes it’s knobby coat and rubs it behind its ears. Because of her sheep, Maira no longer goes to bed hungry; instead, she goes to sleep warm and happy. In 1998, five families in Maira’s village received sheep from Heifer International and training on how to take care of them. They learned how to keep the sheep strong, what to feed them to keep their coats healthy and how to use the byproducts from the animal. With the wool that they get from the sheep, they weave beautiful blankets using old methods as their great-grandmothers did before them. They sell the blankets and have money for food and school supplies. Now, when you go down the street in Maira’s village, you will hear music and laughter. Smells of delicious food waft out of the open kitchens where women quickly pat out tortillas with their hands. Everyone has a friendly word to say to each other. Buenas Dias! They are all like family. A happy family with enough to eat and hope for the future!
Nicodemus Wilderness Project Apprentice Ecologist Initiative (www.wildernessproject.org)
The goals of the Apprentice Ecologist InitiativeTM are to elevate young people (especially at-risk and low-income kids and teens) into leadership roles by engaging them in environmental stewardship projects, empower volunteers to rebuild the environmental and social well-being of our communities, and improve local living conditions for both citizens and wildlife
Adopt-A Street Street Transportation Department 602-262-498
The cleanup efforts of approximately 510 miles of city streets include litter and trash pickup, weed and grass removal, painting over graffiti and installing and maintaining landscaping. Volunteers may work on their street as needed, and a minimum of four cleanups a year are recommended. The city provides trash bags and will pick up contained trash. http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/STREETS/adoptstr.html
Adopt a Ranch Program, Arizona Game and Fish 623-236-7492
In 1992 the Arizona Game and Fish Department initiated a new program called Adopt-ARanch. The idea for this program was patterned after the Department of Transportation's Adopt-A-Highway Program. Nearly 30 Adopt-A-Ranch projects are completed every year to help maintain access on about 2 million acres of land. Under the Adopt-A-Ranch Program, groups of interested public (e.g., sportsman groups, boy scouts, 4-wheeling clubs) "adopt" a ranch with the idea of working directly with the landowners and the Arizona Game and Fish Department to mitigate problems associated with public recreational access. The volunteer group visits the ranch one or two times a year to perform regular maintenance, such as rebuilding fence, hanging gates, picking up litter, or helping with various ranch improvement projects.
Green Schools
Works on a district level to enroll 5-15 schools per district in the program at one time. A team of teachers, custodial staff, administrators, and students carry out the program at each school. An introductory workshop helps teams work together to create a customized plan for teaching about energy, saving energy in school, creating school-wide energy awareness, and taking the message home and into the local community. Throughout the year, each school is supported by frequent school visits and receives information on their monthly energy usage. School teams come together again for a mid-year planning meeting in January and a celebration at the end of the school year. We offer many resources to those who want to make their schools Green Schools, even if they are not in one of our funded districts. This is the page where you can find advice for becoming a greener school now, before your school is officially eligible. All these resources are free for your use.
Alliance to Save Energy Consumers http://www.ase.org/section/_audience/consumers