Family & Homeschool

Acts of Service {free printable}

This year we did an awesome thing!

Back in January, I set a goal that we would complete 50 acts of service as a family before the end of the year.

And we finished on Monday.

Yay!

50 acts of service in one year breaks down to about 1 act of service every week. I created a chart for us to keep track on and we brainstormed some ideas. There were some weeks when we did nothing and had to play catch-up.

Even with our list of ideas, we had times when we couldn’t think of any way to serve. I asked friends and searched Pinterest. Some of our acts of service were simple and some were more elaborate but they all made us feel good.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Every month we had a standing appointment to volunteer with my mom and one of her friends at an assisted living home. Each month we did activities around a theme. We made cards together, played BINGO, did crafts, sang songs, and ate food.

Every summer we get together with my sister and her kids and pass out free snow cones. We get quite a crowd. Who doesn’t love something refreshing when the temperature is 110 degrees!

We love ding-dong ditching! We dropped off a box of Ding-Dongs, rang the doorbell and ran. You can deliver anything from treats, to notes, to toys.

An easy one for us was to offer babysitting. We have lots of friends with young kids who could just use a break. And my kids are great with kids.

We filled plastic Easter eggs with candy and positive notes and hid them on the hiking trail.

Volunteer at a food bank. We volunteered at a few different ones. Some places have age restrictions for who can help. If your kids are too young, you could hold a food drive and donate to the food bank.

I think this was my absolute favorite. And it was super simple. My mother-in-law was giving away all these small vases so we snagged them. We bought a bunch of flowers and filled the vases. We passed them out for people to give to their sweethearts on Valentine’s day.

For this act of service we painted happy rocks and hid them around the neighborhood in hopes of brightening someone’s day.

We made Mother’s Day notes, attached them to suckers, and passed them out to moms that we knew.

A lot of our acts of service were positive notes randomly placed. We put these notes in library books for unsuspecting readers to find.

We made post cards with quotes and pictures and mailed them to home-bound members of our church. We heard back from one saying that it really made her day.

We helped supply and package bags for refugees. We also have made bags for homeless people that we keep in the car to pass out.

I mentioned last week about our yearly service project for grandma and grandpa. This year we did a reverse advent. Instead of getting a gift/treat or doing an activity everyday we added an item of food to a box. Then we donated the box of food to a family in need.

I love that throughout the year, all of us looked for ways that we could serve to add to our list.

Have you ever wanted to do service projects with your family? I created a document with 20 ideas to help you get started. Click on the download button to get your free copy.

Comment below with other ways that you like to serve.

I'm Ashlee and I pride myself on being ME. I'm your non-stereotypical mormon homeschool mom who loves a good book, green grass, conversation with friends, mountains, trying new things, and peanut butter and chocolate. My goal is to help you become your best you by sharing what I have learned.