By A. Noelle

As spring approaches, help your nieces and nephews think of fun and simple ways to give back to the community. Below are some ideas to help you get started.

1. Help clean up a local park or a beach.

Photo: Heal the Bay via Flickr cc

Encourage the kids to beautify their surroundings. Help them organize a community spring cleaning event with their siblings, friends, or schoolmates to pick up trash at a nearby park or a beach.

2. Plant a tree or a garden for your community.

Photo: woodleywonderworks via Flickr cc

Talk to your nieces and nephews about the many important roles that trees play, such as filtering the air we breathe and offering protection from the weather. With permission from the local community or school, give back to the environment and plant a tree or a garden. The kids might even consider planting flowers in honor of a teacher or their favorite aunt.

3. Leave change at a parking meter or a vending machine.

Photo: RW Photobug via Flickr cc

If you’re out with the kids for the afternoon and you notice a car parked at a meter that is about to expire, let your nieces and nephews help you count some change to leave in the meter. If you have extra quarters for the vending machine, teach the kids a small lesson in generosity and leave the change in for the next person.

4. Bake cookies or muffins to share with your neighbors.

Photo: Matthew Oliphant via Flickr cc

Bake a surprise batch of homemade cookies or muffins, and have the kids help you share them around your neighborhood. If you don’t have the time to bake, make a quick stop to the grocery’s baked goods aisle.

5. Write uplifting notes and leave them in your favorite library books.

Photo: EricaJoy via Flickr cc

Before you and the kids return borrowed books to the library, help them write friendly and uplifting notes to leave in between the pages for the next readers. (Remind them not to write directly in the books!)

6. Make a thank you card and give it to the school bus driver.

Photo: woodleywonderworks via Flickr cc

This is a great act of kindness for kids to complete before going on spring break. Help them design a thank you card for their school bus driver, reminding the kids to always show appreciation for the workers they interact with on a daily basis. You might consider creating thank you cards for the mail carrier, too.

7. Give away free water bottles or lemonade.

Photo: rochelle hartman via Flickr cc

As the weather starts to heat up, give away free lemonade or water to neighbors or members of the local community. You can also set up a lemonade stand with your nieces and nephews to sell lemonade for a good cause. Donate the funds you raise to a local charity or shelter of their choice.

Published: March 19, 2014