In our area we have a food pantry, toy drive, "Meals on Wheels", "Adopt a Child" tree, "Toys for Tots", and a food drive.
At our local food pantry people can sign up to volunteer to hand out food on certain days - I could see a little one enjoying gathering up the food and boxing it up to hand out.
Our family "adopts" a child(ren) each year and we all go together to shop and pick out what he/she needs and wants. Our girls like getting a little something extra that isn't on the child's list that they think they might like. We also do the Samaritan's Purse each year with our church.
This year we are starting a "pay it forward" campaign. We are working on ideas for this and we might start by paying for someone's meal at a local restaurant and asking the cashier to tell them to pay it forward or leaving money in a candy/pop machine for the next person with a note to pay it forward. We don't want to make it all about money, so we are trying to brainstorm other things like visiting the elderly, donating good used clothes and toys to the local shelters, donating books to our local daycares, and helping carry out groceries at our little local grocery store. This is a very fun and creative way to get the family involved and thinking about different things we can do to help our fellow man. It can be very heart warming and make a profound impression on not only those we give to, but to us as well.
