Goal: Impact our communities and continue to establish our presence through acts of kindness that are specific to their needs. 

 Projects can include:  

• Give free donuts or coffee at a community center/shelter  
• Arts and crafts or reading books at orphanages/children's centers/hospitals 
• Shoveling snow for Neighbors  
• Give out free haircuts [community center, homeless] 

Brief Overview of Preparation: 

1. Contact your city/local organizations to find out what they need and how you can help. 
2. Determine the materials and requirements for the project/assignment 
3. Reach out to them to someone from their organization to express your gratitude and your desire to do something for the community 
4. Download posters and templates from incgiving.org 
5. Prepare the items for your activities. 
6. Pitch potential stories relating to the project to the Multimedia Bureau 
7. Other notes 
   1. Members of the congregation may have connections with some of the organizations already, coordinate with them to reach out to the organizations. 

Goal: To show our gratitude for individuals and groups who devote their lives in service of others, who work continuously to make a positive impact in our communities. 

Brief Overview of Preparation: 

1. Determine who your local congregation will appreciate: 
   1. A local fire/police department 
   2. An organization that you've worked with in the past or you know makes a big difference in the community 
   3. Medical/Hospital Staff Members 
   4. Transit workers / Crossing Guards 
   5. Military Service Men and Women, Veterans 
   6. Decide how you will show your appreciation 
2. Reach out to them to someone from their organization to express your gratitude and intent to show appreciation. 
3. Download posters and templates from incgiving.org 
4. Prepare the items for your activities. 
   1. INC Giving Thank You Cards with personal messages of appreciation  
   2. Treats / Care Packages  
   3. INC Giving Cards and INC Media cards and Church pamphlets. 
5. Other notes 
   1. Appreciation events don't have to be big (and big crowds can sometimes be overwhelming and disruptive) - a handful of individuals going to say Thank You will go a long way

Brief Overview of Preparation:  

• Reach out to a local retirement/senior living facility to see how to help. They may already have programs that connect volunteers with seniors you can participate in. 

• Offer to create or lead a virtual program for the seniors. 

• Singing for a Cause  
• Facilitate a virtual movie night or any activity: board games, karaoke night, arts and crafts 
• Cook/bake a meal for elderly neighbors 
• Tech Training (setting up phones, going online, avoiding online scams) 

• Sign up for volunteer efforts, including delivering food to seniors, senior chat lines to do weekly wellness check-ins with seniors 

Brief Overview of Preparation: 

1. Research and decide the demographics of the surrounding neighborhood to determine what type of services would be applicable to the community. Examples are: 
   • Health Check ups 
   • Family Photos 
   • Food & Entertainment 
   • Arts and Crafts 
   • Resume/Job Assistance 
   • Bike/Car Repair 
2. Download the invitations and poster templates from incgiving.org. 
3. Determine specific assignments and meet with all those assigned. 
4. Utilize the approved promotional material to promote the project 
   • Promoting Volunteer Participation 
   • Promote Event in the Community using tools like: 
     • Community Bulletin Boards (local coffee shops, libraries, etc) 
     • Online Community Calendars

Goal: Share our appreciation to educators in our communities. For students (elementary/high school/college) in the INC to invite present and past educators as well as schools to the event. 

Brief Overview of Preparation: 

1. Discuss and determine the exact time and date of the event and the general details 
   • Standard Program of Events: 
     1. Welcome & Food 
     2. Musical Performances honoring Teachers 
     3. Recognition of Teachers using certificates, essays and poetry 
     4. Presentation of School Supplies to Teachers (package should include INCGiving cards, times of worship services, schedule of other community events the Church is sponsoring) 
     5. Minister to read a few verses about education and children 
2. Download the invitations and poster templates from incgiving.org. 
3. Determine specific assignments and meet with all those assigned. 
4. Other ideas that congregations have implemented in the past. 
   • Coordinating and having the event on school grounds (Congregations with no house of worship) 
   • Providing school supplies on a table and allowing educators pick up what they need for their classrooms 
   • If inviting a school or educators who may have not had an INC student, make sure program provides some recognition for them. 

Brief Overview of Preparation:  

Find multiple organizations in the community or set up a consistent on-going schedule that volunteers can participate in.  

• Contact a local shelter or similar organization to inquire about what type of clothing or winter wear would benefit their residents. It's important that to contact the shelter to ensure that what we will be donating is what is needed. 
• Create a sign up of INC Giving volunteers interested in volunteering and dates available or hold the drive locally at an approved venue. 
• Build a relationship with the shelter for more opportunities to help out. 
• Another option would be to hold the donation drive on the Chapel grounds to gather the donated clothing and package them into boxes with INC Giving labels. Delivery of the donations can be documented as well.  
• In addition to clothing, organizations often need things like hygiene oriented products, socks, old eye glasses, gently used books, and stuffed-toys.

Brief Overview of Preparation: 

1. Before a Natural Disaster:   
   1. Get to know what organizations and city services are available during a natural disaster.  Let them know that INCGiving volunteers are available and provide a contact number that they can reach (and ask for theirs). 
   2. Find out what type of training may be helpful during natural disasters and if you can, attend those. If not, just be ready and willing to help.  
2. During a Natural Disaster: 
   1. Move fast. Get online and check to see where INC Giving volunteers can help. 
      1. Be ready to have a count of how many volunteers and any "special training" anyone may have.  
   2. Reach out to organizations you've worked with in the past and see how you can help [example: schools impacted by a storm or shelters established that need manpower] 
   3. Look around & Get Out to Help -- during Hurricane Harvey neighbors helped each other during rescue efforts and people brought goods to shelters who simply had a sign up looking for help.
3. After Natural Disaster: If you're in a region that is often hit by natural disasters, find out how you can help individuals / groups impacted by past natural disasters.   Recovery often takes months and years and there's always people to help. 
4. Provide Spiritual Support After Natural Disasters/Calamites 
   1. In the Philippines, a group of trained ministers are sent out after natural disasters for stress debriefing. 
   2. After Hurricane Harvey in Texas, a minister of the gospel, along with other INC Giving volunteers, visited a family impacted by hurricane and offered goods from the outreach event as well as a prayer. 

Getting Started: 

• Set a date for the event. If it's virtual, several local congregations, a region, or even a district can join. 
• Gather experts in the field: teachers, professors, graduates 

• Create a timeline of all the things that need to be done 
• Set up a program of events for the day, for example: 

• Opening Remarks / Prayer 
• Breakout rooms for learning workshops and Q&A.  
• Story time for younger elementary children or those not yet in school. 
• Children's event (exercise, cooking class, games...summer program) 

In-person alternative: Book drive for students in need. 

Brief Overview of Preparation:  

• Set a date for the event. Since it's virtual, several local congregations, a region, or even a district can join together. 
• Gather experts in the field, including recruiters, HR managers, hiring managers, etc., and create a list of how they can help. 
• Create a timeline of all the things that need to be done 
  • Promoting the event 
  • Program of events 
  • Tech set up 
• Set up a program of events for the day, for example: 
  • Opening Remarks / Prayer 
  • Breakout rooms for workshops. Here are some examples of sessions: Excelling in Virtual Interviews, Looking For a Job in 2024, Updating Your Resume and LinkedIn, Starting Your Own Business, etc.
  • As an alternative or additional resource, you can use the event to introduce new trade skills,  knowledge and  resources to broaden their job opportunities. 

Brief Overview of Preparation:  

Group volunteer opportunities may only allow for smaller groups. Find multiple organizations in the community or set up a consistent on-going schedule that volunteers can participate in.  

• Contact a local food bank or similar organization to inquire about volunteer opportunities.  
• Build a relationship with the local food bank for more opportunities to help out. 

Brief Overview of Preparation:  

• Review the demographics in the community to determine what type of clean up effort would be helpful to the neighbors. Ideas may include green thumb projects such as teaching families to create their own urban garden, recycling, conservation, planting new trees around the neighborhood, community gardens, clean water projects such as buying bulk clean water to be given out to US communities  
• Create a plan to gather volunteers and materials for the clean up 
• Put together giveaway souvenirs for any non-INC volunteers that helped to remember the event. For example, thank you cards, photos, certificates, gift cards.

Brief Overview of Preparation:  

• Create a list of potential opportunities in the community for various age groups and contact information/website information. 
• Create a timeline or challenge INC Giving volunteers in your local congregation or district to share what they'll be doing in the community.  
• Encourage volunteers to document what they're doing and share it in the local congregation, during CFO meetings, social media, and incgiving.org

Getting Started: 

1. Decide on a project for the local congregation or individuals 
2. Contact local organizations/city agencies and explain your desire to help. 
3. Create a list of all the opportunities, along with the information regarding the opportunity and post it on the bulletin board and share among all CFO organizations for volunteers to sign up.  
4. Download the appropriate materials and templates needed 
5. Promote participation in the local congregation