Community engagement project ideas
It’s great when community engagement projects are initiated by your students! Here are some
easy project ideas. If you are planning to do some type of collection (such as a used clothing or
shoe collection), be sure to contact the agency you are planning to work with and make sure
that the project will work for them as well as for your class!
You’ll want to ask about donation policies, transportation for the donated goods (some places
will pick up donations, but many need you to drop them off), and be clear of the official name
of the organization you donate to for any notes you send home with your students. It’s always
good to write down the name of the person you talk with at the agency, as well.
Remember to document activities with photos and share on social media sites as allowed. The
more you have your students do the work, the more they will learn!
Project idea: Collect in-season used clothing
Possible partner: The Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence website gives contact
information for regional domestic violence intervention programs. There charge is to change
the social and political systems that perpetuate violence against women. Call your local contact
to learn about their needs and to ask if it would help them if your class held an in-season
clothing drive and donated the clothes.
Project idea: Collect used pillows, blankets, or in-season clothing—or new or partially used
bottles of shampoos, conditioners and lotions
Possible partner: Shelter House and Homeless Shelter Directory provide contact information
for homeless shelters and other support services. Before planning your project, call the shelter
house nearest you to learn about their needs. (If you use the links above, be sure to look for
homeless shelter listings, not housing authority listings.)
Project idea: Collect used shoes
Possible Partner: Soles for Souls (If you live near Sheldon, IA, you can deliver shoes free-ofcharge at Village Northwest Unlimited. Call Village Northwest Unlimited at (712) 324-4873 for
more information. Read a story here about an Iowa classroom that does this.
If you don’t live near Sheldon, talk to local charitable agencies to find out their needs for shoes.
For example, the nearest shelter house likely will gladly accept used shoes for their clients. See
Shelter House or Homeless Shelter Directory for the shelters near you.
Note: There are several great lessons about shoes in the Educator’s Resources section of the
UNI CEEE website.
Project Idea: Challenge family and/or community members to Live Gently with the Earth’s
Resources
The UNI Center for Energy & Environmental Education has created this resource, available to
print out or to complete online. Your students might ask their parents or other community
members to do the challenge. Students then follow up periodically to encourage them and see
how they are doing. If your students choose this project, ask your students to come up with
their own personal actions to take as well. (They can’t legitimately ask others to take actions
unless they also take actions!)
Here are some tips on getting your students to take action. Brainstorm with your students
some actions they could take—but encourage them to aim high! Though recycling is
wonderful, it’s often the default action. Encourage them to explore ways they might be able to
reduce waste. For example, do they make club t-shirts every year?—Some students have
decided not to get yet another t-shirt made after learning about the life cycle of a shirt. If
someone currently drives older students to the bus stop or to school, can they walk or bike
once or twice a week? Can they go a week without buying something new and reflect on how
that went? Can they give up bottled water for a month? How about giving away some of their
toys that don’t bring them joy? Or do something kind for someone? (Don’t kindnesses to one
another make for a better world, too?)
We at UNI CEEE haven’t come up with an age-appropriate version of the Live Gently with the
Earth’s Resources action plan for K-2, 3-5, 6-8, or 9-12 graders. If your class wants to write an
age-appropriate version as their project, that works as a community engagement project, too,
as the UNI CEEE might take your version, adapt it, add the graphic design elements (unless your
students do that!) and publish it online next to adult version!
Project idea: Make bags from old t-shirts (these bags generally don’t make good book bags or
grocery bags, but are great as swimming bags or for other lightweight items)
Possible partner: Your school. Show off the bags, and educate about reusing materials, by
having students staff a table at a high school basketball game or at a concert. Google for dozens
of t-shirt bag DIY instructions. Some bags require no sewing.
Project idea: Write a Letter to the Editor, post a letter on the school’s website, or make
posters to post in the school hallways before a concert, sports event or other event when
community members will be at the school. They information could be about ways to make a
cell phone last longer, or about making most any product last longer!
Project idea: Make posters to encourage use of refillable water bottles.
Then post these posters in the community, in the hallways prior to ball games, concerts or
Parent-Teacher Conferences.
Project idea: Litter collection
Possible partner: Your local landfill/recycling center or your city’s parks department may
provide you with gloves and trash bags, along with a few safety tips, to do a trash collection. Be
sure to take photos and share them on social media sites, or have your local newspaper do a
story!
Project idea: Help your community reduce food waste
Learn ideas for reducing food waste. Scroll down to Food: Too Good to Waste Strategies. Here’s
a news flash: USDA and EPA Join with Private Sector, Charitable Organizations to Set Nation's
First Food Waste Reduction Goals.
Produced by the Center for Energy & Environmental Education, University of Northern Iowa, Fall 2015.