101 Things You Can Do
Many things you personally do--or could do--every day make a big difference
for children and teenagers. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, neighbor,
aunt, uncle, friend, mentor, volunteer, or someone who just enjoys spending time
with kids, you have something to contribute. Even a skill that you may take for
granted can be an opportunity for a youth to be inspired.
Keep in mind that whether you make a difference through a sponsored
opportunity with an organization or a less structured individual activity, a
consistent time commitment will net the most effective results.
We've compiled suggestions for activities that you can do with youth. Some
are ideal for those with time restrictions and others will work best for those
with lots of free time. Either way, find an activity that interests you.
Here’s a list of 101 things you can do with or for kids:
- Take a bike ride
- Chaperone a dance
- Be a camp counselor
- Teach a class
- Mentor
- Help out with school-based activities
- Teach car repair
- Teach cooking
- Teach sewing
- Make ice cream sundaes
- Teach letter writing
- Teach photography
- Teach driving
- Put on a play
- Learn to dance
- Ride a horse
- Teach a computer program
- Have a bake sale to raise money for charity
- Go sledding or skiing
- Start a book club
- Provide a ride
- Do a soap-box derby
- Go to the zoo
- Build a web site
- Go camping
- Go to a park
- Learn another language
- See a musical
- Ride a rollercoaster
- Cultivate a garden
- Help write an essay
- Take a youth to your work
- Go to the planetarium
- Go to the circus
- Start a collection
- Do yoga
- Assist with homework
- Build a tree fort
- Go canoeing
- Visit a Museum
- Have a bake sale
- Go to a sporting event
- Plant a tree
- Paint a picture
- Visit a national monument
- Learn origami
- Take a youth to a place they've never been
- Visit the elderly
- Go to a concert
- Organize a neighborhood clean-up day
- Grow flowers
- Sail a boat
- Play Music
- Plan a scavenger hunt
- Go fishing
- Have a car wash in the neighborhood
- Go ice skating
- Go to the beach
- Teach good nutrition
- Go for a boat ride
- Have a pizza party
- Go indoor rock climbing
- Fly a kite
- Juggle
- Sing a song
- Read poetry
- Watch a classic movie
- Play checkers or chess
- Practice an instrument
- Make jewelry
- Do a crossword puzzle
- Play cards
- Play a sport
- Lift weights
- Draw a picture
- Go to the pet store
- Go rollerblading
- Play a video game
- Have a birthday party
- Play catch
- Learn how something works
- Go swimming
- Take an aerobics class
- Do ceramics
- Paint a mural
- Coach a team
- Build a birdhouse
- Put on a puppet show
- Do an arts and crafts project
- Play table tennis
- Teach a magic trick
- Build a snowman
- Go to a car show
- Ask a youth what they want to be when they grow up, and
encourage them
- Create a photo album
- Share old pictures from your youth
- Teach the value of money
- Talk about the neighborhood
- Find out what interests a youth, and take them to the
library to learn more
- Discuss your heroes with a youth and ask them theirs
- Have a youth make a list of all the things they love
Helping youths stay off drugs can be easy – and fun. There's an unlimited
amount of things to do to put your skills and interests to use.
Research has
shown that kids who enjoy regular positive activity with an adult are less
likely to begin using drugs and alcohol. The activities that are cited in the
list of “101 Things” do not represent an exclusive list, nor do they constitute
an official program or the means to receiving support resources from ONDCP for
an official program. This list should serve the exclusive purpose of presenting
different activities in the hopes of helping you and others to discover ways you
might want to get involved in a child’s life.
from
http://helpyourcommunity.org/default.aspx?id=17
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