With the holiday season in full swing, here are four Girl Scout Service projects for November that your troop can do.
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November is the perfect time to help your troop put the Girl Scout Promise and Law into action. With Thanksgiving around the corner, girls are already thinking about gratitude, kindness, and giving back. As a leader, you can channel that energy into meaningful service projects that teach your troop how even small acts of generosity can make a big difference in their community.
Service is at the heart of Girl Scouting, and November offers endless opportunities for your troop to think of others. From Daisies or to Ambassadors, you can adapt service projects to fit their age level and abilities.
Girl Scout Food Drive
Food insecurity is a challenge for many families, and Thanksgiving is a great time to lend a hand. Partner with a local food bank or pantry and encourage your troop to collect nonperishable items. Instead of just dropping off cans, make it more personal. Have the girls decorate paper grocery bags before filling them with donations. They decorate the bags with drawings and Thanksgiving stickers and even make a card or placemat to put inside. Older girls can organize a community collection drive or volunteer at a food pantry to sort donations.
Create a Thank You Basket for Community Helpers
November is also a great time to remind our community helpers that they are appreciated. Have your troop put together small baskets or bags filled with snacks, coffee, and thank-you notes for firefighters, police officers, librarians, teachers, or hospital staff.
From my own experience making these bags, pre-packaged foods are the way to go. Your troop can make a few large bags or baskets to give to the helpers of your choice or you can have the girls decorate individual kraft bags and fill like an assembly line. There are many Thank You stickers that you can also add.
Here are some ideas for individual snacks:
Younger girls can make hand-drawn cards, while older girls might write thoughtful letters. Delivering the baskets or bags as a troop gives the girls a chance to see firsthand how much gratitude means to those who serve the community every day.
Cards for Veterans and Seniors
Many veterans and seniors feel isolated during the holidays. A simple handmade card can brighten their day. Have your troop create Thanksgiving-themed cards filled with messages of appreciation, encouragement, and friendship. Partner with a local VA hospital, nursing home, or senior center to distribute the cards.
In this blog post, Activities for Visiting a Nursing Home, you will find ideas for activities to do on your visit. You can actually break up this project if you do not have time to do it at one meeting. Make the goody bags at one meeting and then visit the nursing home for another.
Make Soup in a Jar
For this project, check with local food banks to see if they will take this donation.
I did this project with my Hebrew School classes in all grades. I found an easy protein rich soup recipe to fill the jars. The students made them assembly line style. We then donated them to our local food bank.
Make sure each jar has the recipe directions on it. The easiest way to do this is with a sticker. You can make them for free at the Avery website.
As you plan your November troop meetings, consider weaving in one of these Thanksgiving-themed projects. You’ll be helping your girls live out the Girl Scout Law in a fun, hands-on way while making your community just a little brighter.
For nine more additional Girl Scout community service projects for November, please see this blog post, 9 Easy Girl Scout Community Service Projects for November.