Many teachers find that the best way to complete a charity service project with a class is to latch on to a large, national or international charity that already has established fundraisers or local events.  Serving them means not having to carve out a path of your own. Large charities count on grass roots clubs and businesses to loan support and many go out of their way to make it easy.  But Whom can We Trust?

Service Project to Large Charities in America

Lately, charitable giving is down, and it isn’t just tough economic times. We’ve all developed an awareness of stories in media about charities misappropriating funds or behaving in manners that compromise trust.

We are providing links to some of the biggest and most well-known and trustworthy charities according to Forbes Top 200 Charities, Charity Navigation and Charity Watchdog, as well as those sponsored by the International Association of Philanthropy (AIP), or the Better Business Bureau.

We have searched the many pages of the sites ourselves to see that childfriendliness to each service  project was present or that the charity provided clear ways to raise the funds.

Here are two of the top organizations we have found.

1. Make a Wish Foundation

4-Star Rating, Charity Navigator

http://www.wish.org/help/fundraising/kids_for_wish_kids

This charity gives chronically ill children a wish, often including traveling to a fun place or meeting an important person. If a child in your class has a chronically ill friend or sibling, this charity service project would be appealing. Make-A-Wish has a special section called “Kids for Wish Kids” (the direct link is above), which gives ideas for how children can raise money for a sick child. They help you find a local chapter, which will help you through the process of most any fundraiser. They have many projects listed online.

 

2. Habitat for Humanity

4-star rating, Charity Navigator

http://www.habitat.org/youthprograms/

A Christian ministry, Habitat for Humanity states its goal as seeking “to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action”. Most people know them as the homebuilders for those who could not afford a home. Habitat actually has web pages designated to support programs based on the ages of the children wanting to be involved, broken down as follows:

– Children 5-8
– Children 9-13
– People ages 14-25
– Teachers, Parents and Youth Leaders

A versatile list of service project programs serves different capabilities and levels of involvement as well.

 

Do you think this type of service project would work in your church? Why or why not? I’m interested in hearing some feedback. Let me know by leaving a comment in the box below!  And don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook, where you can discuss more service project ideas with other fans!