As one of the many service arms of Project HOPE Art, the Handmade Dresses Project benefits poorly-clothed orphan girls living in Haiti. This super easy sewing project is a great idea for Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, or Good Works value projects, depending upon your focus. A young woman could work on this project on her own or organize a service night for a Mutual activity.

The first batch of dresses was delivered in January, but more trips are planned for April and July.

HOPE Art Facepainting Project

Feel like being uplifted? Take a few moments and peruse the Project HOPE Art website, blog, and photos. If you’re going to spend time on the Internet, this site is a worthy candidate. I stumbled across it just a few minutes ago and knew I had to share. Enjoy!

What kid doesn’t love McDonald’s? Chicken McNuggets, Happy Meal toys, indoor playgrounds, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. What’s not to like?

Of course, your kids DO know about the Ronald McDonald House, right?

Come to think of it, I’m not sure my kids know about it. Hang on a minute…  Okay. Now they know.

Anyway, there are lots of ways kids can help out their favorite clown and get in on the philanthropic action. Whether they want to serve from the security of their own home or make a trip to an actual House, there are lots of easy ways kids can get involved.

This is also a great way to fulfill service requirements (and a few extra requirements, depending on your chosen act of service) in the Faith in God, Personal Progress, Duty to God or Scouting programs. A handy list of links to those requirements is at the end of this post.

First, what can kids do to help?

* Collect or make greeting cards to donate to your local House. Homemade cards, new cards, or the fronts of used cards are all useful. Ronald McDonald House gives these to families, who can send them to their ill child or give them out as thank you notes.

* Collect pop tabs. Not all chapters participate in this program, so check first. Your local chapter will also be able to tell you if there are drop-off locations elsewhere in your community, or provide you with pop tab collection containers to place in new areas. This is a great way to help Houses raise much-needed funds.

* Provide service at the House. Contact your local House to see what they need. You can help serve meals, plant flowers or do some cleaning.

* Sponsor a food drive to help stock their pantry with non-perishable goods.

* Collect items for a community yard sale and donate the proceeds.

* Help prepare and serve dinner at the House.

* Plan an activity for the children living at the house, like a face-painting party or story hour.

* Bake homemade cookies, decorate them, and donate them to families staying at your local House.

* Wash the cars of the families staying at the House.

* Make quilts for the beds. Check with the House first to see what’s needed. Some Houses have nicely decorated, themed rooms (often donated to the House by individuals or groups) and so may not be in need of this.  Other Houses have worn bedding and would greatly appreciate something new and fresh!

The needs of these Houses is huge and varied. You’re bound to find something of interest to your son or daughter. For more information about Ronald McDonald House Charities or to find a local House, go to the official website right HERE.

Related LDS Youth Program and Scouting Program Requirements:

Faith in God – Serving Others requirement 1: “Read and discuss the parable of the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:30–37). Plan and complete a service project that helps a family member or neighbor. After completing the project, discuss how it helped your faith grow stronger.”

Faith in God – Serving Others requirement 4: “Plan, prepare, and serve a nutritious meal. ”

Faith in God – Serving Others requirement 7: “Plan and hold a parent-child activity, such as a dinner, picnic, hike, day trip, or service project.”

Faith in God – Serving Others requirement 8: “Read the twelfth article of faith. Discuss what it means to be a good citizen and how your actions can affect others. ”

Tiger cub scout elective 11: “Help collect food, clothing or toys for needy families with your den or pack.”

Tiger cub scout elective 12: “Make at least two cards or decorations and take them to a hospital or long-term care facility.”

Wolf cub scout elective 9b/c: “Make a gift or toy like one of these (examples shown in book) and give it to someone.”

Bear cub scout requirement 9a: “With an adult, bake cookies.”

Bear cub scout elective 21b: “Help with a garage sale or rummage sale. This can be with your family or a neighbor, or it can be a church, school, or pack event.”

Citizenship cub scout belt loop requirement 3:“Participate in a family, den, or school service project.”

Reading and Writing cub scout pin requirement 2: “Read a book to a child or group of children.”

Complete a 10-hour service project for the House to complete the Personal Progress Individual Worth Value Project or Good Works Value Project.

Personal Progress Good Works requirement 6: “Spend at least three hours giving service outside your family. Ask your ward or branch Relief Society president or a community leader for suggestions for service. For example, you might take care of children while parents attend the temple; collect, make, or recondition toys or games for a nursery; accept an assignment to clean the meetinghouse; or perform errands for or read to a homebound person or others in need. Record in your journal the reactions of the person you served and possible goals for future service opportunities.”

Second class boy scout rank requirement 5: “Participate in an approved (minimum of one hour) service project. ”

Star boy scout rank requirement 4: “While a First Class Scout, take part in service projects totaling at least 6 hours of work. These projects must be approved by your Scoutmaster.”

Life boy scout rank requirement 4: “While a Star Scout, take part in service projects totaling at least 6 hours of work. These projects must be approved by your Scoutmaster. ”

This is a good idea for the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project if you turn it into something significant, perhaps raising funds in order to redecorate and update rooms at the Ronald McDonald House.

Citizenship in the Community merit badge requirement 7, which includes learning about a community service organization and donating at least 8 hours serving that organization.

Do service at the Ronald McDonald House as part of the requirements to earn the Boy Scout Special Award in honor of the late, great Jimmy Stewart, the James M. Stewart Good Citizenship award.

Venturing Religious Life Bronze Award requirement 3: “ Plan and lead a service project such as helping to build a Habitat for Humanity house, participating in a community cleanup project, or taking on a fix-up project for a nursing home or nursery.”

Choose Ronald McDonald House Charities as your organization to serve as part of the Venturing TRUST Award requirements.

Serve the Ronald McDonald House as part of the “Serve Others” requirements in the Duty to God program.

My heart has a special place for Greg Mortenson and his work in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His amazing journey from mountaineer to international philanthropist is outlined in the famous, inspiring book Three Cups of Tea.

From the website:

In 1993 Mortenson was descending from his failed attempt to reach the peak of K2. Exhausted and disoriented, he wandered away from his group into the most desolate reaches of northern Pakistan. Alone, without food, water, or shelter he stumbled into an impoverished Pakistani village where he was nursed back to health.

While recovering he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school. From that rash, heartfelt promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time.

If you haven’t read it, you must. It’ll make you want to do something to help.

If your kids haven’t read one of the youth editions, encourage them or make it a family event and read it to them yourself. It’ll make them want to do something to help.

Too often we read about something like this, wish we could help, and then do nothing because we don’t know what to do.

As you may have guessed, I have a suggestion.

The Pennies for Peace campaign is an excellent way for our youth to truly help some of God’s neediest children. It’s a way to raise awareness of the needs of others and encourage gratitude for the blessings we have here. It’s a way to empower kids to understand that they can make a difference in the lives of others. It’s something everyone can get in on, even those who only have pennies to give.

This idea is flexible and can be made to fit the kind of service project you’re looking for. Primary kids working on their Faith in God can run a small and simple campaign. Youth working on Personal Progress, Duty to God or Scouting awards can coordinate a campaign on a much larger scale.

The Pennies to Peace website has tips and everything you need to get started, from printable stickers to decorate your donation jars to letter templates for parents and Girls Education Fact Sheets. And it’s all free.

If your son or daughter decides to do this, please drop me a line and let me know how it went.

LDS and Scouting Service Project Requirements:

PLEASE NOTE: The Pennies for Peace program may NOT be used for the Eagle Scout award because fund-raising projects are not permitted for that award.

Faith in God – Serving Others requirement #7: “Plan and hold a parent-child activity, such as a dinner, picnic, hike, day trip, or service project.”  This idea may also be used for requirement #10: “Children may also plan and complete their own activity to serve others. ”

Personal Progress – Good Works Value requirement #7, which involves giving three hours of service outside your home. Also, this could be used for the Good Works Value Project which requires at least 10 hours of service and can additionally include involving other young women.

All three levels of the new Duty to God program (Deacon, Teacher, Priest) include requirements to plan and carry out service, both individually and with the quorum.

The Star and Life ranks of the Boy Scout program each require service projects totaling at least six hours of work. Again, please note you may NOT use fund-raising service projects for the Eagle Scout Award.

Venturing – Religious Life Bronze Award requirement #3: “Plan and lead a service project such as helping to build a Habitat for Humanity house, participating in a community cleanup project, or taking on a fix-up project for a nursing home or nursery.”

A Pennies for Peace campaign could be used to fulfill the service to others requirement for the Venturing Gold Award.

Freight Wagon used by the Clark Company, restored by Ryan Worthen as an Eagle Scout project in 2000. This wagon is the property of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers and finds its home on the grounds of the Old Mormon Fort Visitor's Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ah, the pinnacle of Scout achievement: the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project.

A word that’s sometimes overlooked in that phrase is “leadership”. The Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project isn’t just about doing service (although that’s a great thing about it). This is a chance for a boy scout to learn what goes into planning a big project. To learn leadership.

Too often in the LDS Scouting community, boys are short-changed because parents and/or leaders don’t really know what’s expected. I don’t fault individuals for this. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know.

Well, the Eagle Project Planning Guide will take you through everything you need to know. This get to the point one-page website outlines the essentials in a clear, organized manner without overwhelming you with too much information.

It’s really a great site.

Read it. Have your scout read it. Let me know what you think.

Thanks to Jocelyn for telling me about this touching, grassroots service project started by someone who should know what’s needed.

Alida lost her first husband in the Iraq War. As the three-year anniversary of his death approached, she decided to turn her passion for making things into a service project for fellow Iraq War widows.

Journaling is an incredibly valuable tool for someone trying to work through the grieving process. What better way to say “We care” and “Thank you for your sacrifice” than to send a lovingly, homemade journal to those who have lost a spouse in time of war?

I’m tempted to tell you what YW or scouting requirements this project would fulfill (that is the focus of this blog after all) but I don’t want that to be the focus of this post. I really just want to help spread the word.

Whoever you are and wherever you are, if you feel inspired to help in this cause, please contact Alida at alidanicolelee@gmail.com and she’ll tell you what you need to know.

For tutorials on easy but beautiful homemade journals, see Alida’s guide or this no-sew version (I would use Modge Podge instead of glue, but that’s just me). If you like the collage look, here’s another fun idea.

Really, anyone can make these.

If you have more funds than you do time and still want to help, consider browsing the handmade journals at Etsy and giving something like that instead.

Alida, I think you’re amazing for what you’re doing. Thanks for all you’ve given and continue to give.