When you turn your service project ideas into community service activities, you serve your community while you shed a positive light on your business name, your products and services. Community service ideas don’t have to be complicated. After all, your community is simply a body of people who live in an area and share interests. Community service just means working as a volunteer to benefit individuals or groups within your community.

When individuals and companies put their community service ideas into action, they can create a positive and lasting impact. Not surprisingly, their local insights as to which people and segments of the community are underserved can help identify where their volunteer efforts may achieve the most impact. Just as importantly, even a very small business can bring vital services to those in greatest need. You and your business team can be living examples of community service.

Generating community service ideas can be the start of great team building. Consider these examples of community projects, knowing any aspect of community service has the potential to:

• Increase the volunteer’s sense of well-being and life satisfaction.
  
• Heighten the volunteer’s social awareness and forge bonds with people who receive service.
  
• Help volunteers learn about their communities and explore new activities that inspire a passion for further service.
  

Small businesses can develop community service project ideas in cooperation with local governments, churches, fraternal and service organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and social services organizations. All of these organizations are actively engaged in community service activities and often welcome volunteers.

The following community service activities are especially suited for small businesses:

Community Enhancement

• Create a volunteer team to clean up a park or other public space.
  
• Highlight a local non-profit agency on your business website and provide a link to them.

Sports, Employment, Health and Performing Arts

• Sponsor a local youth sports team or theatre group and work its concession stand.
  
• Participate in or host community and industry events such as health fairs, charity auctions, drug-free after-school events and marathon races. Take and donate photos, provide snacks, create and distribute awards.
  

Senior Citizens:

• Visit retirement homes and celebrate birthdays with residents.
• Organize a music recital, guest speaker or movie night.
• Collect and distribute used eyeglasses to senior centers.

Special Needs:

• Provide or repair adaptive equipment for disabled people.
  
• Be a volunteer for Special Olympics.

Homeless and other under-served community members:

• Organize a coat drive for needy people before the onset of the cold season.
  
• Provide back-to-school supplies for needy children and classrooms.
  
• Collect and distribute personal care items for the homeless and shelters.
  
• Create a work party to make repairs at a shelter for homeless people.

The Environment:

• Collect recyclables and donate proceeds to a charity.
  
• Organize a shore or park clean up day.
• Distribute leaf bags in autumn, or sandbags when rivers run high.