Commitment to serving others is a cornerstone of Catholic Scouting. Catholic Scouting leaders are encouraged to engage Scouts as young as kindergarten age in projects that help them learn about the value of volunteering to serve others. As young people grow and advance through Catholic Scouting they engage in successively more in-depth projects that help foster citizenship, develop character, and build leadership skills in service of their parish, their larger community, their country and the Church.
View examples of service projects for
- Organize a book drive for a local homeless shelter for families, so that kids staying there have books to read and enjoy. Start by contacting a local family shelter and ask if they are able to take book donations. Then ask Scouts to bring books they’ve outgrown to your next Den or Pack meeting. Remind them to ask their parents or guardians before bringing books to donate.
- During an upcoming Den meeting, work with Scouts to write thank you notes to local fire fighters, police officers and/or sheriff’s deputies. Young kids will need a lot of help with the words but will have a great time drawing pictures for these cards. Remind Scouts that to thank fire fighters and law enforcement officers for keeping your community safe.
- Collect nonperishable food items and use them to stock your parish food pantry or bring them to a local food shelf. This is great to do during the spring and summer, when food shelf donations often go down – just when the need is going up when kids are home from school for the summer. Consider adding another food drive to your Den or Pack’s activities in addition to the annual Scouting for Food drive. Make sure Cub Scouts know they need to go with a parent or trusted adult when collecting food from neighbors and other community members.
- Write letters to local residents who are serving in the U.S. military in another part of the U.S. or overseas. Your parish may have a list of parishioners in the military stationed elsewhere and you might be able to get contact info for them. Young kids will need a lot of help with the words but will have a great time drawing pictures for these cards. Remind Scouts to thank members of the military for their service.
- Contact your pastor or parish Mass coordinator to find out how Scouts can become involved as altar servers at Mass. Work with Scouts in your Den or Pack and their parents or guardians to get the needed training and find out how altar server scheduling works at your parish. In many parishes, young people can begin as altar servers after they have received First Eucharist.
- Contact a local animal shelter and find out what items they need and are able to accept. Then, ask Scouts to collect items like old towels, blankets and unopened pet food to donate to the animal shelter. The shelter may have visitor hours and this would be a great opportunity for Scouts to visit the shelter, interact with the animals and see how their donations will be used with the dogs, cats and other creatures.
- Call your city or county to ask for information about planting trees or bee-and butterfly-friendly flowers in a local park or other public land. Make sure you get any necessary permissions. Then work with Scouts and their parents or guardians to find a time to do the planting, get the approved seeds or seedlings, gather the necessary tools and make it a fun day out in nature. Or have your Pack or Den join a tree or flower planting event already planned by your city or county.
- Reach out to a local nursing home and ask reception or activities staff there if they would be able to distribute cards to residents – or if Scouts would be welcome to come by to deliver Christmas cards or other cards to residents. There may be restrictions on visitors to help avoid spreading illness. You could also ask nursing home staff if it might be possible for staff to distribute birthday cards on residents’ birthdays. Work with Scouts to create the cards that would be most meaningful for residents at the nursing home you identify and deliver them in the way you arrange with nursing home staff.
- Reach out to the Men’s Club, Knights of Columbus, Council of Catholic Women or other group at your parish and ask how your Scouts can help at an upcoming fundraising event. Maybe it’s clearing table at a pancake breakfast or helping out with set up or with activities for your parish festival. Make sure Scouts know what they need to do. Ask them to wear their Scout uniform, if appropriate, to show others how Scouts are helping out at your parish.
- Donate clothing and toys to family shelter in your area. Start by contacting a local family shelter to see what they need and if they are able to take donations of gently used clothing and toys. Then work with Scouts to find clothing they no longer wear or toys they’ve outgrown to donate to the shelter. Remind Scouts that they should donate clean items that still look nice/function as intended. Make sure they know they need to ask their parents or guardians for permission to donate any of their clothing or toys.
- Ask Scouts who are preparing for Confirmation if they have a service project to complete as part of their preparation. Work with Scouts to identify what would be a meaningful service project that helps them prepare for this important initiation rite in the Church.
- Contact a local nursing home or assisted living facility and find out if residents there would like a visit from Scouts. Help Scouts plan out what they might talk about with residents and what questions they’d like to ask residents. Work with parents and guardians to plan visit times and transportation.
- Collect old eyeglasses and donate them to an organization, like your local Lions Club, that gives them to people who need glasses but can’t afford them. Make sure you know where to donate eyeglasses before you ask Scouts to begin collecting them. Remind Scouts that glasses are breakable and that if possible donated eyeglasses should be put in donated eyeglass cases to keep them from breaking or getting scratched. Remind Scouts to ask for eye glass cases – people often have many they don’t use – when collecting eyeglasses. Make sure Scouts know they need to go with a parent or trusted adult when collecting eyeglasses from neighbors and other community members.
- Ask Scouts to reach out to your city or county to ask for information about park cleanups in your community and consider joining a pre-scheduled event. If no park cleanups are scheduled – plan your own in coordination with your city or county, which may be able to provide tools to safely pick up trash and recyclables in an area park. Recycle what you can. Remind Scouts to wear gloves. If they see an item that could be dangerous, ask them to ask an adult before they try to pick it up. Dangerous items could include broken glass, chemical containers or syringes.
- Ask Scouts to talk with a facilities or lunch manager at their school to find out how a recycling program could be implemented at their school if one doesn’t exist. If a recycling program does exist, Scouts can find out how they can help promote it to their fellow students. Let Scouts know that this would be a great way to be a leader at school, meet new friends and learn about not only starting a complex program but keeping it going.
- Ask Scouts to reach out to local nursing homes, assisted living apartments, children’s hospital, or Meals on Wheels programs to find out how they could bring cheer to people who may be lonely. In addition to Christmas cards, encourage Scouts to think of other times of year to reach out. Maybe they could make thank you cards to send on Veteran’s Day to veterans who receive Meal on Wheels. Or send Easter greetings to residents of a local Catholic nursing home or assisted living facility.
- Ask Scouts to contact the organizer of your parish festival or other big parish or Catholic school fundraiser and find out how they can help. Maybe it’s by volunteering to help set up tables, serve food during a meal or clean up after an event. Maybe the fundraising coordinator is looking for people to run a particular activity at the event. Maybe your parish needs help collecting silent donation items. Scouts will learn communication, leadership and other important skills by taking the lead on volunteer activities like this.