The Ultimate List of Project and Event Ideas
The Ultimate List of Project and Event Ideas
We’re putting together the ultimate list of project and event ideas that JCI members and organisations can get involved in and develop themselves. We’re hoping to get to the magic 100 (or even more) if we can.
Do you have other project ideas you think we should add? Maybe you also have examples of your own projects like the ones below, if so we’d love to see and hear about them? So let us know!
1. Create an awareness campaign for people to shop at smile.amazon.co.uk
Amazon will donate 0.5% – 1% of the net purchase price (excluding VAT, returns and shipping fees) of eligible purchases to your preferred charity. Always remember to shop at smile.amazon.co.uk to support your chosen charity.
2. Donate or raise money for your favourite local charity.
Register for a “Save the Change” account so when you buy something with your debit card, it is rounded up to the nearest pound and the difference is transferred into your nominated savings account. Both Lloyds and Halifax both offer this option in the UK. You can donate this money at the end of the year to a charity active in achieving the SDGs
Join JCI’s Lend with Care account and provide microfinance to entrepreneurs in the developing world to help transform their lives and others too. Microfinance is specifically mentioned as one of the 5 targets for achieving the No Poverty Global Goal.
3. Organise a community blood drive
Every year the NHS needs around 135,000 new donors to ensure we have the right mix of blood groups to meet patient needs now and in the future.
4. Send morale-boosting goody boxes to British Armed Forces serving overseas and their families at home.
https://www.supportoursoldiers.org.uk
5. Organise a card-writing event to send letters and cards to isolated members of the LGBTQ+ community
https://www.therainbowcardsproject.org/#!
6. For your next birthday, ask for charitable donations instead of gifts. It’s really easy to set up a justgiving page.
https://www.justgiving.com/start-fundraising
7. Read books or letters to a person who is visually impaired
https://happyorangeproject.com/365/read-books-or-letters-to-someone-who-is-visually-impaired/
8. Organise a wheelchair basketball team
https://www.nwba.org/startateam
9. Organise a Giving Tree event.
Businesses, schools, and organisations can take part by turning their Christmas tree into a special KidsOut “Giving Tree”. In the lead up to Christmas, decorative tags with a child’s name, age, and suggested gift are placed on the tree, with participants being invited to take a tag and buy the present for £5-£10. KidsOut will arrange the collection of the gifts to distribute to children in local refuges.
https://www.kidsout.org.uk/how-companies-can-help/giving-tree/
10. Help small businesses and charities recycle their Christmas trees after use.
According to YouGov statistics Over eight million real Christmas trees are bought every year in the UK, the equivalent of all the trees in London but after the lights are switched off and the tinsel has come down, many end up discarded on the streets.
https://charityxmastreecollection.com
11. Have a Christmas tag craft event
Give Christmas cards a new lease of life by cutting them up to make gift tags for next year is just one way of doing your bit for the environment and you can sell them in packs to raise funds for charity too!
12. Collect unused makeup and perfume to donate to a centre for abused women
When we think about our make-up bag essentials, what makes the cut? When you are only taking hand luggage on a two-week holiday, do you take moisturiser, toothpaste, serum, shampoo, conditioner, mascara, maybe a bb cream, probably some concealer? Now imagine you have only minutes to leave, children to take with you and you realise that the less you take, the quicker you can leave and the longer it will take for your abusive partner to realise that you have gone – what do you take in that case?
https://www.womensaid.org.uk/supporting-our-members/support-your-local-services/
13. Collect clothes and supplies to donate to new parents
You can put adverts in the local shops to let new parents know how to get in touch with you or contact your local new parents groups via an online search.
14. Hold a Toy Drive & Donate to children in hospitals
Note most hospitals will not accept used toys because of the risk of transferring germs to the patients. You can collect toys by holding a toy drive. Or collect cash or gift cards and purchase the new toys yourself. Just focus on the list of toys that the hospital is currently in need of. Contact your local hospital to see what they need. https://www.gosh.org/donate/donating-toys-and-games (please remember teenagers are often forgotten) – https://jimmiescollage.com/teen-hospital-gifts/
15. Recycle your old toys.
You can get in touch with your local abuse victim shelters or the toy project which supports children in London and the UK and also send toys to India, Africa and the Caribbean https://thetoyproject.co.uk/about-us-2/
16. Organise activities for children in hospitals.
Play in Hospital Week – now in its eighth year – is a celebration of the importance of play in hospitals.
https://www.starlight.org.uk/play-in-hospital-week/
17. Organise your own version of an Olympics event
18. Organise your own version of an Olympics event at home
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/27/at-home/coronavirus-olympic-games-at-home.html
19. Become a poll clerk
Set-up the polling station and make sure correct procedure is followed throughout the day, including after voting closes, checking people are eligible to vote, checking and marking electoral numbers, stamping and issuing ballot papers, and, crucially, making certain that votes are cast in secret and put into the ballot box. Usually, poll clerks have worked for their local council, but this experience is not a prerequisite. Most councils and local authorities have information on how to become a poll clerk on their website.
20. Volunteer to collect and deliver shopping, medication or other essential supplies.
21. Provide transport to patients who are medically fit to attend routine medical appointments
22. Provide telephone support to individuals who are at risk of loneliness.
23. Write articles / give talks on things you’re passionate about
24. Set up a YouTube channel to engage and support students across your area with online information, from different industries and career paths.
Tell local schools about it. Below are a list of suggested questions you could consider including in your video clip:
Questions for the video
- What is your current job and what is the most enjoyable part of it?
- How did you get into this career?
- How could I get into this career and what qualifications would I need?
- What is the biggest challenge you have faced and how did you overcome it?
- What has been the most rewarding thing you have achieved in your career?
- If you could change anything about your career journey what would it be and why?
- What are your top three tips for getting into this career?
- What are employers looking for?
- What could I be doing now to help me?
- One word to describe your job..
There are also a number of other themes and ideas discussed with others including:
- Customer service/transferable skills
- Life lessons
- Why use mentors grow your network
- Top 5 skills
- Resilience
- Rounded individuals
- Wearing many hats
- If your not failing your not trying
- Getting motivated, getting head right
- For you something around diversity in a career and how to keep it interesting
- How to juggle full time work and studying (as they would for an apprenticeship)
- Don’t hide your talents / my hidden talents that helped support my career and drive my motivation and passion
- Self – awareness – Don’t let flattery drive your decision making
- How I identified my passion and turned it into a career I love
- Why volunteer
- Coaching or guidance tips around mental health and wellbeing
- Video interviewing tips and hints
- Lifelong learning and continuing to develop
- Staying motivated during challenging times
- Planning and organising my time
25. Become a mentor
http://onemillionmentors.org.uk
26. Knit baby blankets to be donated to hospitals or homeless shelters
Free patterns https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/heart-baby-blanket
27. Organise a recycling contest.
28. Organise an Easter egg hunt for the local neighbourhood
29. Paint and leave rocks on walks to brighten people’s day.
Tell them to leave you comments on your social media page! e.g. Thorney Rocks https://www.facebook.com/groups/560998244281965/
30. Organise a JCI geocaching event
A great way to enhance your teambuilding and communication skills. http://geocaching.co.uk/getting-started/welcome/
31. Organise an event to commemorate a special date in your city
32. Contact a tree farm about donating Christmas trees to nursing homes, hospitals, or to families who can’t afford to buy their own
33. Organise a summer reading program to encourage kids to read
34. Organise a reading hour for children at a local school or library
35. Read to residents at a nursing home
36. Teach computer and basic social media skills to the elderly
37. Host a bingo night for nursing home residents
38. Host a meal for the homeless.
39. Host a netwalking event where you walk dogs from a local animal shelter
40. Clean up a local park
41. Place a bird feeder in your backyard
42. Campaign for more bike lanes in your town
43. Test the water quality of a lake or river near you
44. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
45. Donate old glasses to an organization that collects that and distributes them to people in need
46. Donate non-perishable food to a food bankDonate blankets to a homeless shelter
47. Host a Christmas dinner for people who may not be able to afford their own
48. Make “care kits” with shampoo, toothbrushes, combs, etc. to donate to homeless shelters
49. Prepare a home-cooked meal for the residents of a nearby homeless shelter
50. Help repair or paint a local homeless shelter
51. Donate art supplies to kids in a homeless shelter
52. Help organise and sort donations at a homeless shelter
53. Bake a batch of cookies or loaf of bread and deliver it to a soup kitchen
54. Organise a winter clothes drive to collect coats, hats, scarves, and gloves to be donated
55. Volunteer at a police station or firehouse
56. Become a certified lifeguard and volunteer at a local pool or beach
57. Paint over graffiti in your neighborhood
58. Organise a self-defense workshop
59. Create and distribute a list of hotlines for people who might need help
60. Teach a home-alone safety class for children
61. Become CPR certified
62. Become a tour guide at your local museum
63. Create virtual tour of your city
Like the Invisible Cities partnerships from JCI Manchester & JCI Edinburgh
64. Participate in or help organise a community parade
65. Create a newcomers’ group in your neighbourhood to help welcome new people
66. Petition your town leaders to build more drinking fountains and public restrooms
67. Volunteer to clean up at a community event
Next Steps
#1: Look over your interests: Which activities seem most appealing to you? Were they mostly in one particular category, like children or the environment? If so, that’s a good starting place for choosing specific organizations to contact.
#2: Figure out how much time you can devote to community service: Are you available for two hours every week? Are you not free on a regular basis but can volunteer for an entire weekend now and then?
Think about transportation as well and how you’ll be able to get to different locations. Knowing this information will help you choose which community service projects to pursue, and it’s helpful information for volunteer coordinators to know.
#3: Do some research to see what projects you can do in your community: Check at your school, place of worship, or town hall for more information on volunteering. You can also contact the place where you’d like to perform your community service, such as a particular animal shelter or nursing home, and ask if they take volunteers.
#4: Start volunteering! This list ranges from small projects that you can complete on your own in a few hours, to much larger projects that will take more time and people. If you find a project you can start on your own, do it!
If you want to do a project where you’ll need more resources or people, check around your community to see if a similar program already exists that you can join. Many organisations welcome new volunteers and community service projects and it’s always great to work in partnership.
By JCI Manager
