By: Madeline Dunham
Ever since 1992, Make a Difference Day has inspired volunteerism in local communities across America. Mission Generation recognizes that students find purpose and fulfillment in serving their communities because that is how Jesus did His ministry. When students understand the positive impact they can make on others, there is a joy that cannot be replicated anywhere else. A national survey displayed in, The Paradox of Generosity: Giving We Receive, Grasping We Lose found that “the more generous Americans are, the more happiness, health, and purpose in life they enjoy. This association is strong and highly consistent. Generous practices actually create enhanced personal well-being. The association is not accidental, spurious, or an artifact of reverse causal influence.” How cool is it that we can foster this effect in our classrooms starting with Make a Difference Day?
Mission Generation has developed a list of potential ways your classroom can get involved on Make a Difference Day to foster a culture of students who find joy in giving back and look forward to new opportunities to serve their communities. See if any of the ideas below would fit your classroom dynamic!
- Decorating and delivering cookies to your community’s local fire department or retirement center.
- Making crafts to be delivered to your local children’s hospital.
- Staying in 15 minutes during recess to clean another teacher’s classroom.
- Writing thank you notes to underappreciated faculty and staff at your school.
- Driving to a local park to pick up trash with a small play time incentive.
- Having each student bring a canned good item to donate to your local food bank.
- Having each student bring a small $10 or less toy item to donate to a local nonprofit organization that works with children.
- Encouraging each student to write a thank you note to their parent or guardian for all that they do.
- Planting flowers in your school’s flower bed.
- Taking an hour out of the school day to have your students read books to or with students that are younger than them.
The Mission Generation team hopes you find success with some of these Make a Difference Day Ideas! Don’t forget to try them and to celebrate Make a Difference Day on October 30th!