Good habits 2

(Messenger of Peace Badge part-2)

Get involved in a small scale Community Service project with others. This could be in the school or in any other place. It should last at least one hour, and write at least 5 sentences about it in your log book. If possible, you may paste a photograph of that activity in the log book, or draw a picture of it.

Every Scout is a Messenger of Peace

Scouts do some amazing things, from simple community actions to large-scale projects such as preventing bullying in schools in the UK, helping street gangs in El Salvador to reduce violence, cleaning up a playground in Texas, and planting millions of trees all over Africa. Throughout its history, Scouting has inspired its millions of members to make a difference – applying their leadership to creating a better world. MoP is a World Scouting Initiative, which encourages Scouts to do community service and tell the story of their experience in order to inspire others to action. The Initiative has three components:

• The Messengers of Peace Support Fund

• The Messengers of Peace Educational Programme

• The Messengers of Peace Network

These elements are connected: Today's technology enables us to exchange, and share inspiration through our Scouts Global Messengers of Peace Netowrk, for project ideas and ways to take action. The educational programme provides guidance on how to implement project ideas, and the Support Fund gives the necessary means for the National Scout Organisation’s projects.

More details about Messengers of Peace from here

What Is Community Service?

Community service is work done by a person or group of people that benefits others. It is often done near the area where you live, so your own community reaps the benefits of your work. You do not get paid to perform community service, but volunteer your time.

Community service can help many different groups of people: children, senior citizens, people with disabilities, even animals and the environment. Community service is often organized through a local group, such as a place of worship, school, or non-profit organization, but you can also start your own community service projects.

Many people participate in community service because they enjoy helping others and improving their community. Some students are required to do community service in order to graduate high school or to receive certain honors. Some adults are also ordered by a judge to complete a certain number of community service hours.

Why Should You Participate in Community Service?

There are numerous benefits to participating in community service, both for yourself and others. Below are some of the most important benefits of volunteering:

• Gives you a way to help others

• Helps improve your community

• Can help strengthen your resume and college applications

• Can be a way to meet new friends

• Often results in personal growth

• Gives you a way to gain work experience and learn more about certain jobs

How Should You Use This List?

This list of over one hundred community service examples is organized by category, so if you're particularly interested in working with, say, children or animals, you can easily find community service activities more related to your interests.

In order to use this list most effectively, read through it and make note of any community service ideas that match your interests and that you may want to participate in. Some considerations to keep in mind are:

• Who would you like to help?

  • Is there a specific group of people or cause you are passionate about? Look for projects that relate to your passion and interests. You may also just want to perform particular community service activities that allow you to do hobbies you enjoy, like baking or acting, and that's fine too.

• Do you want a community service activity that is reoccurring or a one-time event?

  • Perhaps you don't have enough time to regularly devote to community service. In that case, it may be better to look for opportunities that only occur once or sporadically, such as planning special events or helping build a house.

• What kind of impact do you want to have?

  • Some people prefer to participate in community service activities that have a quantifiable impact, for example, activities where you know the specific number of kids you tutored, dollars you raised, or cans of food you collected. This is in contrast to activities that don't have such clear numbers, such as creating a garden or serving as a volunteer lifeguard. Some people prefer quantifiable activities because they feel they look stronger on college applications, or because they simply enjoy knowing their exact impact on the community.

• What skills would you like to gain?

  • Many community service activities can help you gain skills. These skills can range from teaching to medicine to construction and more. If there is a particular skill you'd like to learn for future classes, jobs, or just out of personal interest, you may want to see if there is a community service activity that helps you learn that skill.

General Ideas

• Donate or raise money for your local Red Cross

• For your next birthday, ask for charitable donations instead of gifts

• Hold a bake sale for your favorite charity

• Read books or letters to a person who is visually impaired

• Participate in a charity race

• Volunteer to help at a charity auction

• Contact a tree farm about donating Christmas trees to nursing homes, hospitals, or to families who can't afford to buy their own

• Organize a car wash and donate the profits to charity

• Help deliver meals and gifts to patients at a local hospital

• Tutor children during or after school

• Donate stuffed animals to children in hospitals

• Organize games and activities for children in hospitals or who are visiting hospitalized relatives

Check this article for a wide range of Community Service Projects